What do you think of the new “I’m a PC” Windows adds?

[elmo16]

What do you think of the new “I’m a PC” Windows adds?

Good? , Bad? Whatever, but ever since the first one without Jerry Seinfield was aired, we haven’t seen a single “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” Add by Apple. The new Window's adds seem to have completely derailed the entire Apple Ad Campaign, at least for now.

 

[Duckman]

I kinda like 'em.

Just saw two so far.

[youtube]kkZdkHylJ3w[/youtube]


Now, my thoughts on the ad campaign don't color what I think of the technology. And although I am a "PC," I still think Macs are superior. But for now, I stay with what I know... the pain level for changing isn't worth it (to me).

 

[57676]

I think Apple's going to nail them for some kind of copyright thing. That nerd guy was there invention.

 

[elmo16]

I think Apple's going to nail them for some kind of copyright thing. That nerd guy was there invention.

Revenge of the nerds?

 

[howdynnj]

I miss Jerry already. I heard that the commercials with him and Gates are over.

 

[q32003]

I thought that was a good commercial. Haven't seen it before. The Jerry / Bill ones were a bit weird and not necessarily as funny/effective as the Apple ads... I think...

 

[donquixote04]

I think Apple's going to nail them for some kind of copyright thing. That nerd guy was there invention.

That "nerd guy" is just a thinly veiled send-up of Bill Gates. No matter how much we may admire Apple, we can't really credit them for having invented Bill Gates.

 

[fumpton]

I like the new PC ads. The line at the end where the guy says he's a human being, not a human doer or a human thinker was clever.

The Bill Gates/Seinfeld ad were also good. I thought the funniest one was the one with the missing giraffe.

 

[marcinny]

I use PC at home and Mac at work and I love them both. Is like having a wife and playing on the side. I don't have to chose.

As a Seinfeld fan, I loved the ads and I am sorry that they were interrupted. However, as an opinion piece commented on them: choosing a TV star of the 90s symbolizes exactly what is problematic with the image of Windows/PC.

What you need is "Cool". If you want popular market you'll some better chance with a few dumb pop stars (movies and music) than with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld.


The second wave of ads (the one brought here by Duckman) is a much better one. It is people oriented, not star-oriented. Marketing-wise is likely to have a much better response and return.

 

[Mr. W. Coyote]

Revenge of the nerds?

The guy playing the Nerd guy in the PC ads is actually a Microsoft employee.

In response to the we have not seen a Mac ad... well....they come out every 4 - 6 months usually in groups of three. Three came out about 2 months ago.

 

[Monk]

According to the Ad trade press, Microsoft felt that they were being "defined" by the Apple ads and wanted to claim back their identity. However, just by having a bunch of different people tell you that, essentially, they use PCs seems, well, besides the point. Everyone knows that most people use PCs. So what's the news here? They're not really telling you why using a PC is better. But that's exactly what Apple does in its ads. They give you proof points in each ad as to why switching to Apple is better than continuing to use a PC. That's why the campaign has been so effective.

These ads remind me of the Dell "Portraits" commercial that an agency called Mother created, in which you see different kinds of hip, young kids carrying their Dell computers around set to the Kira Willey song "Colors." The difference is that the Dell ad feel fresh, young and hip, while the Microsoft ads feel kind of ordinary and not particularly memorable. Here's a link to it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCwKndz41P4

BTW, if you go on msn.com, they have an online execution of the campaign, with many of the testimonials from the ads, plus more, that appear surrounding their normal interface after you rollover their ad. It's a cool execution. Too bad the concept behind it lame.

 

[q32003]

Actually Monk, I know of several people who thought (until I told them) that most people used Macs, or that they were on equal footing.

I think you have a point though, and it's one that Microsoft has a real hard time fighting: Apple sells specific computers with their OS. It's one coherent integrated product line. That's hard to compete against as far as the branding goes. That's why I think it'd be hard for Microsoft to pick one or even a few types of users to "market".

I actually think they're doing the right thing. They're saying that Microsoft's OS is for everyone. They probably should add some more "pointed" adds too though...

 

[elmo16]

According to the Ad trade press, Microsoft felt that they were being "defined" by the Apple ads and wanted to claim back their identity. However, just by having a bunch of different people tell you that, essentially, they use PCs seems, well, besides the point. Everyone knows that most people use PCs. So what's the news here? They're not really telling you why using a PC is better. But that's exactly what Apple does in its ads. They give you proof points in each ad as to why switching to Apple is better than continuing to use a PC. That's why the campaign has been so effective.

These ads remind me of the Dell "Portraits" commercial that an agency called Mother created, in which you see different kinds of hip, young kids carrying their Dell computers around set to the Kira Willey song "Colors." The difference is that the Dell ad feel fresh, young and hip, while the Microsoft ads feel kind of ordinary and not particularly memorable. Here's a link to it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCwKndz41P4

BTW, if you go on msn.com, they have an online execution of the campaign, with many of the testimonials from the ads, plus more, that appear surrounding their normal interface after you rollover their ad. It's a cool execution. Too bad the concept behind it lame.

People are basically stupid (of course, not the elite UG members!), or at the very least, are more then willing to let other people do their thinking for them. The Apple adds were all about getting people to think that very few people are now buying PC's and are now buying Macs instead. Microsoft's adds are trying to show that countless people, including a few famous ones (one famous person is worth about 10,000 nobodies) are still using and buying PC's

 

[elmo16]

Don’t be surprised if the new (you heard it here first) Apple ads are very much like the Microsoft ads in which they have lots of ordinary (with a few famous faces) all saying they use Macs (having them say that they are Macs is just too unoriginal).