Microsoft Unleashes Another Dubious Ad

[Vincent Ferrari]

<p><em>"On a budget of just $1500, Giampaolo looks for a high-spec laptop that's up to his standards."</em></p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4VIZA0ZwY5k" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4VIZA0ZwY5k"></embed></object></p><p>Portability, power, and battery life.&nbsp; Got it.&nbsp; So what does he end up with?&nbsp; An HP laptop with under 2.5 hours of battery life, RAM that's running at half the speed of his CPU, and a 16" screen.&nbsp; But don't worry; Giampaolo is very picky and he knows what he wants.&nbsp; Oh, and Macs are just about aesthetics, you see.&nbsp; There's no portability, power, or battery life there.</p><p>In fact, in every way he was searching for, the MacBook that he dismissed as "only about aesthetics" actually fit his needs better.&nbsp; It has a much better battery, a screen that runs at almost the same resolution (the HP he picked up runs at 1366 x 768 which I'm sure looks marvelous blown up to 15 inches), and a CPU of equal speed with RAM that's matched to it.&nbsp; Oh yeah, and no OS upgrade required to run 4 gigs of RAM.</p><p>At least with the "Lauren" ad, she kinda got what she was looking for.&nbsp; This one features a guy who set out for three things, told us how picky he was and how technologically savvy he was, then proceeded to buy something that wasn't even within the guidelines Mr. Picky set forth at the beginning of the ad.&nbsp; For that reason alone, this one should've ended up on the cutting room floor.</p><p>Giampaolo got just what he paid for.&nbsp; Not what he wanted; just what he paid for.</p>

[emuelle1]

This ad was a little bit full of it. I'm not entirely sure what the big deal is though. I agree his "Macs are about aesthetics" comment was moronic, but maybe he honestly knows nothing about them.

[doogald]

Giampaolo: "I guess I'm not smart enough to be a Mac user."

[Dave Beauvais]

These ads -- while misleading -- are no more so than the Mac vs. PC ads from Apple or most other product commercials. Both rely on exploiting stereotypes, omitting the sometimes significant drawbacks while highlighting the benefits, and generally portraying the advertised product in a very positive way. That's advertising. It isn't designed to give you a balanced and fair comparison of products; it's designed to sell one company's product instead of their competitors' product by appealing to people in the target market.

Even though I was highly annoyed by the deceptive messages in the Mac vs. PC ads, they were quite funny. These aren't amusing at all, and just seem like thinly veiled Mac-bashing. (And Mac user bashing.)

[Vincent Ferrari]

These ads -- while misleading -- are no more so than the Mac vs. PC ads from Apple or most other product commercials. Both rely on exploiting stereotypes, omitting the sometimes significant drawbacks while highlighting the benefits, and generally portraying the advertised product in a very positive way. That's advertising. It isn't designed to give you a balanced and fair comparison of products; it's designed to sell one company's product instead of their competitors' product by appealing to people in the target market.

Deceptive or not, that isn't even the worst part with this ad.

The guy specifically laid out three criteria, said he was technically savvy and very picky, picked up a MacBook that was more powerful than what he bought and said it was all about aesthetics, then bought something that didn't fit any of the three criteria he started with.

That's what has me scratching my head at this point. I just don't get it. :confused:

Like I said; at least Lauren kinda got what she was looking for. Giampaolo, well, who knows what the hell he was looking for; he certainly had no idea.

[Phronetix]

The guy specifically laid out three criteria, said he was technically savvy and very picky, picked up a MacBook that was more powerful than what he bought and said it was all about aesthetics, then bought something that didn't fit any of the three criteria he started with.

Giampaolo, well, who knows what the hell he was looking for; he certainly had no idea.

I completely agree, and what I think is striking is that no one, from the subject, the video director, editors and microsoft seem to have picked up on it.

It's like watching an ad of a guy who wants a rugged pair of blue jeans, at a good price and comes away with a great deal on khaki corduroy pants, and says, "I am picky!".

This just goes back to my original point (#4) (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f381/microsoft-plays-too-expensive-lie-again-93129-2.html#post705041) in the discussion after the Lauren ad about confusion in buying a PC. I mean, here's a guy who said what he wanted, went to stores, got confused, and got none of what he set out for. But it must be so accepted among PC buyers that they made an ad out of it like nobody would notice or even find it remarkable.

If that doesn't make a case for a streamlined product line, I don't know what does.

[doogald]

Deceptive or not, that isn't even the worst part with this ad.

The guy specifically laid out three criteria, said he was technically savvy and very picky, picked up a MacBook that was more powerful than what he bought and said it was all about aesthetics, then bought something that didn't fit any of the three criteria he started with.

That's what has me scratching my head at this point. I just don't get it. :confused:

Like I said; at least Lauren kinda got what she was looking for. Giampaolo, well, who knows what the hell he was looking for; he certainly had no idea.

Anyboy who understands this is not the target of this ad. Microsoft is clearly targeting a group of users who are thinking about switching to the Mac - in part because it is cool, in part because many of their friends have, but not for any real technological (note the "logical") reasons. Those folks are just not going to get any "mistakes" that Lauren or Giampaolo have made in these ads - all that they are going to see is that cool looking people (who look nothing like John Hodgman, no offense to him) have made the choice to stay with Windows PCs, after checking out Macs and finding them "too expensive" or "too aesthetic" for their needs.

It won't matter that they are making technically awkward choices.

This is a very effective Microsoft ad campaign - perhaps the best that they have ever done.

[David Tucker]

This is a very effective Microsoft ad campaign - perhaps the best that they have ever done.

Yeah, I've been shocked personally. This is a page out of Apple's book. Mac vs PC was never about real life differences. It was always about making Macs seem cooler than PCs. And it worked better than I'm sure anyone could have hoped. Nothing wrong with it either...most of them were pretty funny.

This ad campaign is perfect timing for MS because of the current economic conditions. If there was ever a time to make people reconsider buying things based on how "chic" something is...now is definitely the time.

[Macguy59]

Both rely on exploiting stereotypes, omitting the sometimes significant drawbacks while highlighting the benefits, and generally portraying the advertised product in a very positive way.

Yeah . . . HP products

[michaelalanjones]

I think I see a pattern here. Lauren and Giampaolo both chose HP computers, out of all the manufacturers out there. Micro$oft should have had them both wear Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirts and then they could have gone threesies on the advertising budget. Silly!

As the Lauren debacle demonstrated, what you want is not what you get. If Giampaolo was so technologically savvy, he would have been clutching a crumpled list of must-haves when he approached the store. Instead, he strutted around, fondling every shiny thing in sight, and grabbed something that did not meet his requirements, choosing with his eyeballs and not with his brains.

Why is Micro$oft running these ads, anyway? I guess they are still steamed about the failure of the Jerry Sein-who? ads that ran for a week of leering, jeering and sneering. What a waste of money. They should have realized that Jerry's minefield is so 'early 1990's', like Windows, that many people don't relate with or respond to, anymore. Apple knows what people want - stuff that just works.

Micro$oft should save the money, and hire more programmers to retrofit Windows XP with all the shiny, happy features of Micro$oft Wish-Ta'. Plus, they might want to save a few bones to pay out on all the crass-action lawsuits stemming from computers too weak to satisfy the hefty Wish-Ta' power and memory requirements.

In my opinion, nobody is going to actually purchase Wish-Ta' in this economy, when it requires re-buying everything, just for pretty, pretty. Come on guys, just spruce up XP, and go on with business as usual.

Wait, that's it! Micro$oft is running these ads, because more people are buying Apples, and the only way to "sell" Wish-Ta' is on a new Piece-o-Crap.

[jdmichal]

Yeah, I've been shocked personally. This is a page out of Apple's book. Mac vs PC was never about real life differences. It was always about making Macs seem cooler than PCs. And it worked better than I'm sure anyone could have hoped. Nothing wrong with it either...most of them were pretty funny.

This ad campaign is perfect timing for MS because of the current economic conditions. If there was ever a time to make people reconsider buying things based on how "chic" something is...now is definitely the time.

Advertizing is never about the absolute truth, aside from the point that there is no absolute truth in these things. It is about touting the features and benefits of your product, against either a known competitor or against whatever will make you look best. I agree that I think this is a well-timed, relevant campaign by Microsoft.

As a techie, though, I do agree that this particular ad has glaring flaws, as pointed out.

&lt;snip&gt;

Honestly, I can't take anyone seriously who uses language like "Micro$oft" and "Wish-Ta". I didn't even bother reading your post beyond that.

[Vincent Ferrari]

As a techie, though, I do agree that this particular ad has glaring flaws, as pointed out.

Good God, did we just AGREE on something? :eek:

[David Tucker]

A song by REM comes to mind....

[michaelalanjones]

Honestly, I can't take anyone seriously who uses language like "Micro$oft" and "Wish-Ta". I didn't even bother reading your post beyond that.

I employed pseudonyms for two reasons:
1. I am trying to be entertaining
2. To avoid referring to a manufacturer by name

Notice that I also used the phrase "In my opinion", which is a disclaimer. One cannot be too careful in today's litigious world.

If you don't want to read my post, that is your choice; I don't know you from Adam. I bet if you were honest, though, you secretly did read the entire post. Come on, you know you did. You just want to show everybody how intellectual you are.

And after I went to all that trouble to coin the phrase: Wish-Ta’.

[jdmichal]

Good God, did we just AGREE on something? :eek:

I'm not unreasonable. It's just that I often have a differing opinion from you. And I'm just as stubborn.

While I could defend the Lauran advertizement on a technical basis, I don't really feel comfortable doing that here. Pretty much for the reasons you've already expressed. I think for $1500 I could have done much better.

I employed pseudonyms for two reasons:
1. I am trying to be entertaining
2. To avoid referring to a manufacturer by name

Notice that I also used the phrase "In my opinion", which is a disclaimer. One cannot be too careful in today's litigious world.

If you don't want to read my post, that is your choice; I don't know you from Adam. I bet if you were honest, though, you secretly did read the entire post. Come on, you know you did. You just want to show everybody how intellectual you are.

And after I went to all that trouble to coin the phrase: Wish-Ta’.

No, really; I didn't read it. I might now, since I now know you were just trying to be whimsical. But I readily and irrevocably damn such things as childish, and will ignore the entire containing post.

EDIT: OK, read it. Didn't really find anything worth commenting on. Sorry.

[michaelalanjones]

EDIT: OK, read it. Didn't really find anything worth commenting on. Sorry.

I don't need to please you. Sorry.

[jdmichal]

I don't need to please you. Sorry.

:confused: ... I don't know what my comment had anything to do with pleasing anyone, but OK. I'm glad you feel that way.

[doogald]

My sister just bought her first Mac - a Mac Mini to replace her broken, two year old HP desktop (already repaired once in December, the same thing broke, and HP refused to warrant that repair.) So when I jokingly pointed out that she was ignoring the ads, and was spending too much money on a Mac, she replied Windows machines aren't any cheaper if you need to replace them every two years.