New Microsoft Windows 8 ad turns Apple's Siri against her maker
A recently aired Microsoft ad pits a tablet running the company's Windows 8 against the iPad, with the spot featuring an unlikely narrator: Apple's Siri virtual assistant.
The commercial, first spotted by The Verge, initially appears to mimic an Apple ad, complete with upbeat music and copious amounts of white space around the product. Things soon turn sour, however, as one notices the white iPad is not paired with the usual iPad mini, but instead a black tablet running Windows 8.
In the ad, titled "Less talking, more doing," Siri appears to be struggling with a few functions that are highlight features for Microsoft's Windows 8-running tablet. Live updating tiles, multitasking and powerpoint are mentioned as things Siri, and by proxy the iPad, can't do.
As a callback to Apple's ad from 2012, which first introduced the iPad mini, Siri says, "Should we just play Chopsticks?." The original Apple ad showed an iPad user playing "Heart and Soul" on a virtual piano in Garage Band, accompanied by the smaller iPad mini.
At the end of the commercial, pricing for each device is prominently displayed, in this case a $699 64-gigabyte iPad and a similarly equipped $449 Asus VivoTab Smart.
The commercial, first spotted by The Verge, initially appears to mimic an Apple ad, complete with upbeat music and copious amounts of white space around the product. Things soon turn sour, however, as one notices the white iPad is not paired with the usual iPad mini, but instead a black tablet running Windows 8.
In the ad, titled "Less talking, more doing," Siri appears to be struggling with a few functions that are highlight features for Microsoft's Windows 8-running tablet. Live updating tiles, multitasking and powerpoint are mentioned as things Siri, and by proxy the iPad, can't do.
As a callback to Apple's ad from 2012, which first introduced the iPad mini, Siri says, "Should we just play Chopsticks?." The original Apple ad showed an iPad user playing "Heart and Soul" on a virtual piano in Garage Band, accompanied by the smaller iPad mini.
At the end of the commercial, pricing for each device is prominently displayed, in this case a $699 64-gigabyte iPad and a similarly equipped $449 Asus VivoTab Smart.
Comments
Don't really care for Live Tiles so you can keep that.
Keynote is just fine and I'm sure they tried to make it as unflattering as possible.
Multitasking in the same space as another app is a so-so feature if your apps save state then it isn't a big deal. There's not many cases where I, personally, would see myself absolutely needing this feature. For productivity tools sure that would be great.
I guess we can scratch Office for iOS off the list. No PowerPoint for you!
Wait, multitasking?
The fancy (hideous) new Windows 8 apps don't even run unless they're in the foreground. And when they're in the foreground, they're fullscreen, making it impossible to multitask.
Never mind that the entire operating system completely locks up when you're copying a file. COPYING A FILE. There is no multitasking in Windows.
So it seems. Can't wait for when they have to pull it or apple will sue for use of protected IP without permission or some such
The only way this is hitting one of the Park* is if you are saying this is on par with Samsung's attack on Apple. There are simply too many iPad users to see through this fares.
* Too esoteric? Park is the 3rd most common Korean surname.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingela
Hate to say it, it's a great ad. Kudos to MS for finally hitting one out of the park.
Why is it a great ad? The worst past is the person horribly mangling chopsticks or whatever it is at the end. I'm no pianist but even I could play it better than the person in the ad did.
Not an MS lover, But the mangled chopsticks was "the point".
You actually did know that, right? (I hope)
Pretty good ad, showcases a few advantages that Windows 8 has in a clear and clever way.
Can't imagine Powerpoint being anywhere near as easy to use as that though, and it obviously skims straight over the fact that there aren't many apps out for the new Start screen yet. And if it was W8Pro then there should be a battery life warning and a fan kicking up noise in the background.
Nevertheless, well played Microsoft, a decent burn when you don't have much to work with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
The only way this is hitting one of the Park* is if you are saying this is on par with Samsung's attack on Apple. There are simply too many iPad users to see through this fares.
* Too esoteric? Park is the 3rd most common Korean surname.
This ad is not targeted at iPad users. It's targeted at Android tablet owners or those who have not made a choice yet, which remains the majority. So, I'd argue that they met their objective with a nice touch of levity and irony. The real irony, of course, is how the tables have been turned.
Good one about Park.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingela
Hate to say it, it's a great ad. Kudos to MS for finally hitting one out of the park.
Hate to say it, your trolling skills aren’t too sharp I see...
"Out of the park" you say, but you provide absolutely no justificatory comments as to why this would be a "homer" - as if the ad by itself would be self-evident of that fact... but it’s not. This is a comparison advertisement using Apple’s aesthetics to try to steal a bit of Apple's thunder, and that hardly qualifies as "major league" stuff (to keep with your baseball reference). Their primary message is mostly, hey I’m just like an iPad (and if you would go so far as to believe me > even better). But for some reason I can’t seem to present myself to the world without mentioning (and even outright showing) an iPad.
Kind of pathetic if you ask me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
Exactly, the average consumer wants to use tablets to do fun things not edit power point documents.
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Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
I think the average consumer would see that commercial and think having a piano on a tablet is fun and ignore everything else. Score one for the iPad.
Good for you two - sticking to your guns and be damned with objectivity. Why ever admit that another company can pull off something cool once in a while?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juil
Hate to say it, your trolling skills aren’t too sharp I see...
"Out of the park" you say, but you provide absolutely no justificatory comments as to why this would be a "homer" - as if the ad by itself would be self-evident of that fact... but it’s not. This is a comparison advertisement using Apple’s aesthetics to try to steal a bit of Apple's thunder, and that hardly qualifies as "major league" stuff (to keep with your baseball reference). Their primary message is mostly, hey I’m just like an iPad (and if you would go so far as to believe me > even better). But for some reason I can’t seem to present myself to the world without mentioning (and even outright showing) an iPad.
Kind of pathetic if you ask me.
Kind of pathetic? You mean like "I am a Mac/I am a PC" kind of pathetic?
And, guess what, to some of us not wearing blinders, this commercial is indeed self-evident as a hit. Even if you disagree, he is entitled to his opinion, isn't he? Just as you're entitled to your blinders?
Originally Posted by stelligent
…to some of us not wearing blinders, this commercial is indeed self-evident as a hit.
That's funny, because it… isn't.
Enjoy your blinders. Or your Ballmers, rather.
My wife took exception to the fact that the ad was "picking on Siri."