New Apple ads savage Microsoft's $300m Windows campaign

***AppleInsider*** · 10-20-2008, 06:17 PM

Not content with just criticizing Windows Vista itself, Apple has launched a pair of new TV spots that accuse Microsoft of launching its ad blitz to distract the public from the problems with its software.

The two ads, which first began airing this weekend, continue to feature John Hodgman and Justin Long in their familiar PC and Mac roles but question the direct lack of references to Microsoft's own product.

The first, "Bean Counter," is the most direct and tackles Microsoft's well-publicized $300 million marketing campaign for Windows, which already includes $10 million just for a set of ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld as well as the company's usual online, print and TV efforts.

Long's persona suggests that PC -- and thus Microsoft -- is putting far more money into marketing Windows than into fixing it, creating a smokescreen to mask the problems with its latest operating system.

In turn, "V Word" jabs Microsoft for its conscious decision to avoid mentioning Vista by name in its "I'm a PC" counter-campaign, which tries to shift the focus to the general Windows brand. Bringing up Vista simply "doesn't sit well" with PC users irritated with the platform, Hodgman's character says.

Apple's "Bean Counter" ad.

Apple's "V Word" ad.

The two spots escalate the war of words between the two competitors, which had avoided directly referencing each other until Apple's "Get a Mac" ads began in 2006 and the company's computer sales growth started outpacing that of most Windows PC makers. While it's never been clear whether or not the ads and sales are connected, Microsoft has increasingly charged Apple with hijacking the Windows message and successfully persuading the public that Vista is flawed even after Service Pack 1 and other fixes are said to have sorted out most of the teething troubles with the new software.

But while Apple has lately shifted its attention more to commenting on Microsoft than the positives of its own platform, Microsoft has also taken to spreading doubt through indirect channels: on the eve of the new MacBook launch this month, one executive sent email messages allegedly meant for employees that support the widespread notion of an "Apple Tax" and of unnecessarily excluding hardware and upgrade options from its systems. The Redmond, Washington-based firm has also taken to shadowing Apple's retail efforts by creating Microsoft Gurus that fulfill a similar role to Apple's Genius Bars and Mac Specialists.

Outside of its commercials, Apple has typically been less imitative but no less blunt, using its recent MacBook presentation to directly credit perceived problems with Windows Vista for driving customers to the Mac.

bloggerblog · 10-20-2008, 06:26 PM

Mac: "Yeah Put it all on..."
PC: "Advertising"

iPeon · 10-20-2008, 06:33 PM

Love it!

wirc · 10-20-2008, 06:36 PM

Wow. Talk about stoking a simmering rivalry.

"Throw on more dogs!" "Mooooooooreeeee Dogs!"

digiology · 10-20-2008, 06:37 PM

This is all a little immature isn't it? I mean they're massive corporations!

quinney · 10-20-2008, 06:40 PM

AAPL and MSFT are behaving like candidates for elective office from two different
parties. They spend more time attacking their opponents than promoting their
own ideas (products). I'm getting tired of it in both arenas.

Walter Slocombe · 10-20-2008, 06:40 PM

BRILLIANT

plus, they are only saying what everyone else is thinking.

frugality · 10-20-2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiology

This is all a little immature isn't it? I mean they're massive corporations!

Yeah, enough with the negative campaigning already. Vote Nader!

Personally, as a Mac convert, I have to agree with the general sentiment of these ads, and find them very funny.

But Apple has to be careful not to become Big Brother. It may end up that Apple gets so popular that someone will have to throw the hammer at THEM.

jittery jimmy · 10-20-2008, 06:46 PM

That's a scathing ad... perhaps Microsoft could have taken a higher road by not emulating the Hodgeman PC character, but instead they decided to try to hit Apple's ad campaign directly.

Dumb dumb dumb. Yeah, I got a degree in advertising, and I worked in the industry for less than 8 years, but I'm far from an advertising genius.

But even I knew that their ad campaign was fatally flawed.

I don't think we're going to see too many more Microsoft ads from that agency. Next thing you know, they'll get Carrot Top jumping around.

PXT · 10-20-2008, 06:49 PM

As a future switcher, I empathize with these ads, but, if I didn't know that the Mac was better, these latest ads would do nothing to inform me. No need to focus on Windows' pain points, as users already feel it. Instead better inform that Mac does not have those pain points.

Mac is easier for users to: secure, backup, reinstall, use and get professional help for. Tell THAT story Apple - because it's amazing how many potential Apple switchers do not yet know. And again, as a future switcher, going to an Apple Store was a revelation - it's the tech support team "for the rest of us".

frugality · 10-20-2008, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PXT

As a future switcher, I empathize with these ads, but, if I didn't know that the Mac was better, these latest ads would do nothing to inform me. No need to focus on Windows' pain points, as users already feel it. Instead better inform that Mac does not have those pain points.

Mac is easier for users to: secure, backup, reinstall, use and get professional help for. Tell THAT story Apple - because it's amazing how many potential Apple switchers do not yet know. And again, as a future switcher, going to an Apple Store was a revelation - it's the tech support team "for the rest of us".

Actually, many of those Mac ads DO highlight Mac's plusses, without slamming PC (though PC does appear disappointed with Mac's security, reliability, and ease-of-use.)

johnqh · 10-20-2008, 07:00 PM

Forget about the PC vs Mac war, those two ads are funny, especially the first one!

Actually, the MS ad (Sienfield and Bill #2) wasn't bad either. "I am PC" was boring like car commercials.

At least, those two companies will make the TV commercial breaks more fun.

plokoonpma · 10-20-2008, 07:03 PM

savage |ˈsavij|
adjective
(of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled : tales of a savage beast | a week of savage storms.
• cruel and vicious; aggressively hostile : they launched a savage attack on the budget.
• (chiefly in historical or literary contexts) primitive; uncivilized.
• (of a place) wild-looking and inhospitable; uncultivated.
• (of something bad or negative) very great; severe : this would deal a savage blow to the government's fight.

These ads are everything but savage, since when AppleInsider became Microsoft protector?

Microsoft already acknowledge that their software has a lot of issues and customers are not happy with it. Thats the reason they are pushing hard "Windows 7"

wolfneuralnet · 10-20-2008, 07:08 PM

Remember that kid who got so mad that he took the ball you were playing with home?

I think that as Apple gets bigger, it should be careful not to piss Ballmer off too much. They really could put a serious dent in Apple's sales by stopping developing Office for the Mac.

It has been threatened before in their relationship.

mikeske · 10-20-2008, 07:10 PM

As a recent convert to Apple, I had never saw the ads until later, but had become very upset every time I used my PC. All I wanted to do was have the computer work, it kept failing me and I was tired of the crashing and the bugs that even XP had and the constant patches that I had to have for it work.

I walked into the Apple store after seeing some Vista powered PC's at a local store and I walked out with my iMac. This thing works and it does everything I need it to do.

I never even saw the ads until after I got my iMac and was on Apples website and then I watched them and found that they are funny. The latest ad just follows in the line of the others and I think at least Apple has a sense of humor

bobertoq · 10-20-2008, 07:11 PM

300 million dollars?! No wonder Apple is accusing them of this.

plokoonpma · 10-20-2008, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

Remember that kid who got so mad that he took the ball you were playing with home?

I think that as Apple gets bigger, it should be careful not to piss Ballmer off too much. They really could put a serious dent in Apple's sales by stopping developing Office for the Mac.

It has been threatened before in their relationship.

Just to point out that Microsoft was one of the first to publish software for Macs and they still do it with an entire division (Mac BU)
Even if that happen... who cares?

iWork/OppenOffice ring any bell?

a_greer · 10-20-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiology

This is all a little immature isn't it? I mean they're massive corporations!

hmmmm, have you ever worked at a corporation, it is all about bashing the competition, no one wants to think that they are being out done

VinitaBoy · 10-20-2008, 07:29 PM

The undeniable truth of the matter is that throwing money into advertising is all Microsoft CAN do to improve Vista. Anyone involved in coding and product design knows all too well that the more people and resources one heaves at any project, the more complex and labyrinthine it becomes. That is, if 200 people working on a project takes 4 years to complete, putting 400 people on it will take 6 to 8. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

DeaPeaJay · 10-20-2008, 07:32 PM

It's hard to believe these ads have been showing for over 2 years! And they're still hillarious! That's practically unheard of in the commercial biz. But it's not simply "good advertising". The ads wouldn't work if Apple didn't make amazing products that speak for themselves. Microsoft has no amazing products, so it doesn't matter how much money they throw at advertising, because the underlying problem is their faulty product. That's what the Apple ad is very successfully pointing out I think. It's more than just a jab.

lightstriker · 10-20-2008, 07:35 PM

Its not immature its really good satire with some underlining wit.

As oppose to... I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...

Kolchak · 10-20-2008, 07:38 PM

I think these are two of the funniest ads in the series so far. But "Mac" should have also said something about "Mojave" in the second ad. After all, does anyone really believe that Microsoft slapping a fake name on Vista really fooled those people in that earlier ad?

solipsism · 10-20-2008, 07:57 PM

I think this is only the 2nd Get A Mac ad that actually mentions that mentions 'Windows" by name, which I think Apple has been very careful to refer to anything not a Mac as being generic. Those two ads are "V Word" and "Touché". They've mentioned 'Vista' in a few ads, but not as Windows Vista.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolchak

I think these are two of the funniest ads in the series so far. But "Mac" should have also said something about "Mojave" in the second ad. After all, does anyone really believe that Microsoft slapping a fake name on Vista really fooled those people in that earlier ad?

I don't think Mojave is well known enough by name.

Kurt · 10-20-2008, 08:31 PM

I find the original Microsoft ads kind of funny and real paranoia. Microsoft has such a large market share that Apple is still very small. Yet they are so worried about dropping below 90% that the are reduced to negative ads.

Leithal · 10-20-2008, 08:55 PM

I laughed out loud at Bean Counter... but it is unfortunately true that MS has apparently focussed on change the topic more than patching products.

As the market shifts to NetBooks... they release an OS that can't run on them.

They panic and extend, and extend again the life of XP all while point forward and saying (in the grand old MS Tradition) --- a new versions soon. Yeah, that's it, Windows 7, Real Soon Now!

Virgil-TB2 · 10-20-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plokoonpma

savage |ˈsavij|
adjective
(of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled : tales of a savage beast | a week of savage storms....
These ads are everything but savage, since when AppleInsider became Microsoft protector?...

I think they meant "savage" in the sense of a transitive verb (subject to a vicious verbal attack).

paxman · 10-20-2008, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolchak

I think these are two of the funniest ads in the series so far.

I love the "V" - one. Of course this is childish but Apple is doing the right thing by riding the wave (they created in part). Doing nothing would be foolish. I love the way the V ad pokes fun at the childishness of it. At the end we are literally watching two kids bickering about a word. The way Mac ges the word Vista in there is hilarious.

aaka · 10-20-2008, 09:15 PM

OK like it or not - this is funny. I love it.

I mean even Bill Gates has got to be laughing. OK maybe not.

I think Microsoft invited these days and did it to themselves. Their ad campaign was lame, stupid and meaningless. And please can they keep Bill in a closet or something.

No one should see these ads after eating a heavy meal.

iPeon · 10-20-2008, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

They really could put a serious dent in Apple's sales by stopping developing Office for the Mac..

Office, what's that?

cameronj · 10-20-2008, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plokoonpma

Just to point out that Microsoft was one of the first to publish software for Macs and they still do it with an entire division (Mac BU)
Even if that happen... who cares?

iWork/OppenOffice ring any bell?

Riiiight.

Keeping thinking that those are reasonable substitutes for most people.

cameronj · 10-20-2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolchak

I think these are two of the funniest ads in the series so far. But "Mac" should have also said something about "Mojave" in the second ad. After all, does anyone really believe that Microsoft slapping a fake name on Vista really fooled those people in that earlier ad?

No one knows what Mojave is outside of 1% of nerds on the internet.

drmitch · 10-20-2008, 09:33 PM

how long until microsoft starts robocalling pc users saying "bill ayers and rev. wright use a mac. if you switch to mac, you're a terrorist" ...

jaypres · 10-20-2008, 09:36 PM

Imagine I installed a children game on my vista laptop and it can't play, prompting the missing msvcr80.dll error. What's that?
After many days of googling, I finally found the solution: To uninstall Office 2007.

So I am left with two choices: The game or Office 2007.

MS deserve all these S**T!

Kibitzer · 10-20-2008, 10:07 PM

The obvious test for effective advertising is whether a correlation can be measured with increased sales. And that's all that matters. I don't know about the rest of the world but can offer a sample size of two. We switched my wife to an iMac last month, and my new unibody MacBook w/320MB HD flew in from Shanghai over the weekend and landed this a.m. The Mac ads made a significant dent in my thinking, while I look at all those "I'm a PC" folks and ask - "But WHY are you a PC?!"

jpellino · 10-20-2008, 10:12 PM

Great. They can use old "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy" skits for training films.
My God, what fresh hell they must face every day. To stand around a retail store and tackle the average Windows user's new problem with a mishmash of hardware. Don't forget your bandelero of rescue floppies...

jpellino · 10-20-2008, 10:18 PM

... so I'm still waiting for the one where PC comes running in stage left out of breath fresh from his "I'm a PC" ad... And do we have a count of hate mail for poor sean@windows.com? Please tell me that guy's getting 1 year vesting MS stock for being the whipping boy...

pooped · 10-20-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

II think that as Apple gets bigger, it should be careful not to piss Ballmer off too much. They really could put a serious dent in Apple's sales by stopping developing Office for the Mac.

one word: NeoOffice

wilco · 10-20-2008, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plokoonpma

savage |ˈsavij|
adjective
(of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled : tales of a savage beast | a week of savage storms.
• cruel and vicious; aggressively hostile : they launched a savage attack on the budget.
• (chiefly in historical or literary contexts) primitive; uncivilized.
• (of a place) wild-looking and inhospitable; uncultivated.
• (of something bad or negative) very great; severe : this would deal a savage blow to the government's fight.

cli·che \klē-ˈshā, ˈklē-ˌ, kli-ˈ\
noun
1: a trite phrase or expression ; also : the idea expressed by it
2: a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3: something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace

SpamSandwich · 10-20-2008, 10:41 PM

Absolutely hilarious ads. Hits 'em right where it counts too.

Cubert · 10-20-2008, 10:43 PM

Mafia$oft's new slogan, "Life Without Walls" makes no sense. If there are no walls, you don't need windows. Actually, windows aren't even possible.

10-20-2008, 06:17 PM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,151	New Apple ads savage Microsoft's $300m Windows campaign Not content with just criticizing Windows Vista itself, Apple has launched a pair of new TV spots that accuse Microsoft of launching its ad blitz to distract the public from the problems with its software. The two ads, which first began airing this weekend, continue to feature John Hodgman and Justin Long in their familiar PC and Mac roles but question the direct lack of references to Microsoft's own product. The first, "Bean Counter," is the most direct and tackles Microsoft's well-publicized $300 million marketing campaign for Windows, which already includes $10 million just for a set of ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld as well as the company's usual online, print and TV efforts. Long's persona suggests that PC -- and thus Microsoft -- is putting far more money into marketing Windows than into fixing it, creating a smokescreen to mask the problems with its latest operating system. In turn, "V Word" jabs Microsoft for its conscious decision to avoid mentioning Vista by name in its "I'm a PC" counter-campaign, which tries to shift the focus to the general Windows brand. Bringing up Vista simply "doesn't sit well" with PC users irritated with the platform, Hodgman's character says. Apple's "Bean Counter" ad. Apple's "V Word" ad. The two spots escalate the war of words between the two competitors, which had avoided directly referencing each other until Apple's "Get a Mac" ads began in 2006 and the company's computer sales growth started outpacing that of most Windows PC makers. While it's never been clear whether or not the ads and sales are connected, Microsoft has increasingly charged Apple with hijacking the Windows message and successfully persuading the public that Vista is flawed even after Service Pack 1 and other fixes are said to have sorted out most of the teething troubles with the new software. But while Apple has lately shifted its attention more to commenting on Microsoft than the positives of its own platform, Microsoft has also taken to spreading doubt through indirect channels: on the eve of the new MacBook launch this month, one executive sent email messages allegedly meant for employees that support the widespread notion of an "Apple Tax" and of unnecessarily excluding hardware and upgrade options from its systems. The Redmond, Washington-based firm has also taken to shadowing Apple's retail efforts by creating Microsoft Gurus that fulfill a similar role to Apple's Genius Bars and Mac Specialists. Outside of its commercials, Apple has typically been less imitative but no less blunt, using its recent MacBook presentation to directly credit perceived problems with Windows Vista for driving customers to the Mac.

10-20-2008, 06:36 PM	#4
wirc Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 302	Wow. Talk about stoking a simmering rivalry. "Throw on more dogs!" "Mooooooooreeeee Dogs!" MacBook Pro C2D 2.4GHz and a battle-scarred PowerBook G4 1.33GHz "When you gaze long into a dead pixel, the dead pixes gazes also into you"

10-20-2008, 06:40 PM	#7
Walter Slocombe Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,567	BRILLIANT plus, they are only saying what everyone else is thinking. I don't see how an anti M$ stance can be seen as a bad thing on an Apple forum I really can't! nagromme - According to Amazon: "SpongBob Typing Tutor" is outselling Windows

10-20-2008, 06:46 PM	#9
jittery jimmy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 20	Ouch! That's a scathing ad... perhaps Microsoft could have taken a higher road by not emulating the Hodgeman PC character, but instead they decided to try to hit Apple's ad campaign directly. Dumb dumb dumb. Yeah, I got a degree in advertising, and I worked in the industry for less than 8 years, but I'm far from an advertising genius. But even I knew that their ad campaign was fatally flawed. I don't think we're going to see too many more Microsoft ads from that agency. Next thing you know, they'll get Carrot Top jumping around.

10-20-2008, 07:03 PM	#13
plokoonpma Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Panama Posts: 140	Come on.... savage \|ˈsavij\| adjective (of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled : tales of a savage beast \| a week of savage storms. • cruel and vicious; aggressively hostile : they launched a savage attack on the budget. • (chiefly in historical or literary contexts) primitive; uncivilized. • (of a place) wild-looking and inhospitable; uncultivated. • (of something bad or negative) very great; severe : this would deal a savage blow to the government's fight. These ads are everything but savage, since when AppleInsider became Microsoft protector? Microsoft already acknowledge that their software has a lot of issues and customers are not happy with it. Thats the reason they are pushing hard "Windows 7"

10-20-2008, 06:26 PM	#2
bloggerblog Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 570	Mac: "Yeah Put it all on..." PC: "Advertising" Jessie Ventura + Ron Paul = USA

10-20-2008, 06:33 PM	#3
iPeon Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Walnut Creek, CA Posts: 1,118	Love it!

10-20-2008, 06:37 PM	#5
digiology Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cork, Ireland Posts: 28	This is all a little immature isn't it? I mean they're massive corporations!

10-20-2008, 06:40 PM	#6
quinney Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: dit doe Posts: 731	AAPL and MSFT are behaving like candidates for elective office from two different parties. They spend more time attacking their opponents than promoting their own ideas (products). I'm getting tired of it in both arenas.

10-20-2008, 06:49 PM	#10
PXT Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The West Posts: 306	As a future switcher, I empathize with these ads, but, if I didn't know that the Mac was better, these latest ads would do nothing to inform me. No need to focus on Windows' pain points, as users already feel it. Instead better inform that Mac does not have those pain points. Mac is easier for users to: secure, backup, reinstall, use and get professional help for. Tell THAT story Apple - because it's amazing how many potential Apple switchers do not yet know. And again, as a future switcher, going to an Apple Store was a revelation - it's the tech support team "for the rest of us".

10-20-2008, 07:00 PM	#12
johnqh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 222	Forget about the PC vs Mac war, those two ads are funny, especially the first one! Actually, the MS ad (Sienfield and Bill #2) wasn't bad either. "I am PC" was boring like car commercials. At least, those two companies will make the TV commercial breaks more fun.

10-20-2008, 07:08 PM	#14
wolfneuralnet Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 39	Angry kid might take his ball and go home... Remember that kid who got so mad that he took the ball you were playing with home? I think that as Apple gets bigger, it should be careful not to piss Ballmer off too much. They really could put a serious dent in Apple's sales by stopping developing Office for the Mac. It has been threatened before in their relationship.

10-20-2008, 07:10 PM	#15
mikeske Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Western Washington Posts: 27	As a recent convert to Apple, I had never saw the ads until later, but had become very upset every time I used my PC. All I wanted to do was have the computer work, it kept failing me and I was tired of the crashing and the bugs that even XP had and the constant patches that I had to have for it work. I walked into the Apple store after seeing some Vista powered PC's at a local store and I walked out with my iMac. This thing works and it does everything I need it to do. I never even saw the ads until after I got my iMac and was on Apples website and then I watched them and found that they are funny. The latest ad just follows in the line of the others and I think at least Apple has a sense of humor

10-20-2008, 07:11 PM	#16
bobertoq Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 165	300 million dollars?! No wonder Apple is accusing them of this. ALTER BRIDGE is the greatest rock band of today. Myspace \|\| Street Team

10-20-2008, 07:29 PM	#19
VinitaBoy Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 98	The undeniable truth of the matter is that throwing money into advertising is all Microsoft CAN do to improve Vista. Anyone involved in coding and product design knows all too well that the more people and resources one heaves at any project, the more complex and labyrinthine it becomes. That is, if 200 people working on a project takes 4 years to complete, putting 400 people on it will take 6 to 8. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

10-20-2008, 07:32 PM	#20
DeaPeaJay Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA - TN Posts: 889	It's hard to believe these ads have been showing for over 2 years! And they're still hillarious! That's practically unheard of in the commercial biz. But it's not simply "good advertising". The ads wouldn't work if Apple didn't make amazing products that speak for themselves. Microsoft has no amazing products, so it doesn't matter how much money they throw at advertising, because the underlying problem is their faulty product. That's what the Apple ad is very successfully pointing out I think. It's more than just a jab.

10-20-2008, 07:35 PM	#21
lightstriker Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 171	Its not immature its really good satire with some underlining wit. As oppose to... I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...I am a PC...

10-20-2008, 07:38 PM	#22
Kolchak Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,149	I think these are two of the funniest ads in the series so far. But "Mac" should have also said something about "Mojave" in the second ad. After all, does anyone really believe that Microsoft slapping a fake name on Vista really fooled those people in that earlier ad?

10-20-2008, 08:31 PM	#24
Kurt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Oxford Posts: 206	I find the original Microsoft ads kind of funny and real paranoia. Microsoft has such a large market share that Apple is still very small. Yet they are so worried about dropping below 90% that the are reduced to negative ads.

10-20-2008, 08:55 PM	#25
Leithal Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 17	Funny, but sadly true I laughed out loud at Bean Counter... but it is unfortunately true that MS has apparently focussed on change the topic more than patching products. As the market shifts to NetBooks... they release an OS that can't run on them. They panic and extend, and extend again the life of XP all while point forward and saying (in the grand old MS Tradition) --- a new versions soon. Yeah, that's it, Windows 7, Real Soon Now!

10-20-2008, 09:15 PM	#28
aaka Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17	LOL This is so funny OK like it or not - this is funny. I love it. I mean even Bill Gates has got to be laughing. OK maybe not. I think Microsoft invited these days and did it to themselves. Their ad campaign was lame, stupid and meaningless. And please can they keep Bill in a closet or something. No one should see these ads after eating a heavy meal.

10-20-2008, 09:33 PM	#32
drmitch Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1	more negative campaigning... how long until microsoft starts robocalling pc users saying "bill ayers and rev. wright use a mac. if you switch to mac, you're a terrorist" ...

10-20-2008, 09:36 PM	#33
jaypres Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8	Imagine I installed a children game on my vista laptop and it can't play, prompting the missing msvcr80.dll error. What's that? After many days of googling, I finally found the solution: To uninstall Office 2007. So I am left with two choices: The game or Office 2007. MS deserve all these S**T!

10-20-2008, 10:07 PM	#34
Kibitzer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 73	The obvious test for effective advertising is whether a correlation can be measured with increased sales. And that's all that matters. I don't know about the rest of the world but can offer a sample size of two. We switched my wife to an iMac last month, and my new unibody MacBook w/320MB HD flew in from Shanghai over the weekend and landed this a.m. The Mac ads made a significant dent in my thinking, while I look at all those "I'm a PC" folks and ask - "But WHY are you a PC?!"

10-20-2008, 10:12 PM	#35
jpellino Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 259	Microsoft Gurus? Great. They can use old "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy" skits for training films. My God, what fresh hell they must face every day. To stand around a retail store and tackle the average Windows user's new problem with a mishmash of hardware. Don't forget your bandelero of rescue floppies...

10-20-2008, 10:18 PM	#36
jpellino Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 259	Good things come in threes... ... so I'm still waiting for the one where PC comes running in stage left out of breath fresh from his "I'm a PC" ad... And do we have a count of hate mail for poor sean@windows.com? Please tell me that guy's getting 1 year vesting MS stock for being the whipping boy...

10-20-2008, 10:41 PM	#39
SpamSandwich Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8,453	Absolutely hilarious ads. Hits 'em right where it counts too. "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground." —Thomas Jefferson Proud AAPL stock owner.

10-20-2008, 10:43 PM	#40
Cubert Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 472	Mafia$oft's new slogan, "Life Without Walls" makes no sense. If there are no walls, you don't need windows. Actually, windows aren't even possible.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode