HP gets caught in crossfire of PC-Mac battle

This new Microsoft ad by Crispin Porter + Bogusky makes a pretty compelling case for the affordability of PC laptops versus Macs. But it has also riled Apple lovers, and they're taking out their vengeance on the HP Pavilion Notebook that "Lauren" ends up buying in lieu of a costlier Mac. "It is the epitome of what people dislike about PCs," writes Computerworld's Seth Weintraub. Specifically, he takes issue with the $699 laptop's processor speed, screen quality, wireless networking, battery life and nearly eight-pound weight. TechFlash's Todd Bishop wants to interview Lauren to see what she thought of the laptop in the weeks after making "one of the most high-profile purchases in the history of the PC industry," but he says Microsoft is turning down requests to talk to the office manager/aspiring actress. This spot is the first installment of a campaign featuring real people who didn't know they were involved in a Microsoft ad. For their sake, I hope Crispin's listing on Craigslist said: "Volunteers wanted for free computer and lifetime of second-guessing by every Apple fanboy on the planet." UPDATE: Oh, but wait. Did Lauren even really go into the Apple Store?

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Apple, Crispin Porter, Griner, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Technology
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If a 4½-year-old can work Vista, so can you

Here's the latest Microsoft commercial, which premiered last night during the Grammy Awards on CBS. It's the first spot in what might be a new series of ads from Crispin Porter + Bogusky focusing on "rookies" who are new to computing but who master the programs with Mac-like ease. This ad stars Kylie, a kid who makes mincemeat of Windows Live Photo Gallery. "I'm a PC, and I'm 4½," she says with a grin at the end. (This little girl might just be pirating Disney movies by the time she turns 5.) As The New York Times reported last week, the "I'm a PC" campaign seems to finally be helping Microsoft to lift PC users' perception of the brand as technologically and environmentally advanced.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Crispin Porter, Microsoft, Nudd, Technology
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Microsoft Songsmith as awful as advertised

Considering how bad that Microsoft Songsmith ad was (we almost thought it was a fake), we didn't have high hopes for the product itself. And as usual, our low expectations were met, because the product is terrible. It's meant to generate musical accompaniment to match one's voice; these YouTube videos show the results of classic songs being fed into the program, with less than impressive results. (The machine must pass the sounds through its intestinal tract to produce what we hear.) That version of "Roxanne" sounds like something Buster Poindexter would have tried. The New York Times sort of tries to defend the program as something deliberate camp that went too far. But honestly, Kompressor met our "gimmicky synthesizer music" needs long ago, and at least that stuff was fun to listen to.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Kiefaber, Microsoft
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Microsoft Songsmith spot shockingly horrid

The ads with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld got a good spanking in the media, but they were pinnacles of human achievement compared to this apparent Microsoft creation: a long-form ad touting Songsmith, a Microsoft program that generates musical accompaniment to match a singer's voice. Hard to believe it's for real, but so far there's no evidence to the contrary.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Freaky, Microsoft, Music, Nudd
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Unofficial Zune spot redefines 'spray paint'

When Microsoft hopped into bed with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, many of us hoped the lovechild would be some kind of freakish sideshow abomination that would polarize the ad world. Instead, people ended up split between "eh" and "meh." So, it was with a strange sense of fulfillment that I watched this disturbing unofficial viral ad for Zune, created by directing duo Sibling Rivalry. Now that CP+B has been handed Microsoft's also-ran MP3 device, maybe they'll be able to pull something equally innovative out of their ass.

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Griner, Microsoft
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Microsoft tries anything, to see what sticks

Watching Microsoft's recent marketing unfold is like taking a class in Advertising 101, without the cute co-eds listening to their Zunes. (See, I keep up with trends!) Since September, Microsoft has deployed every conceivable creative strategy known to humankind. We've seen the celebrity endorsement (Seinfeld); the client in the ads (Gates); the attack/parody of the competition (the Hodgman clone in the initial "I'm a PC" spot); and now, the user-generated content. Microsoft is inviting everyone to upload videos to Windows.com—even Mac users, thus inoculating itself against potential embarrassment over UGC stuff created on Apple systems. "A Mac can be a PC too," the Vista gang proclaim. But can a PC be a Mac? When the answer's yes, I might consider switching. But not until then.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Gianatasio, Microsoft, Technology
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Macs vs. PCs becomes a musical bloodbath

With Apple striking back at Microsoft for striking back at Apple, you know it's just a matter of time before there's blood in the streets. Now, Canada's Accident Factory brings the Armageddon to life with "Macs vs. PCs." Blending the dancing of West Side Story, the bloody zeal of Evil Dead, and the primal screaming of 300, this gleefully gory video imagines a brawl so epic it could engulf the modern world in an ocean of carnage. Luckily, it's not real. I can tell, because the iPhone camera doesn't really have a flash. Via Cinematical.

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Apple, Griner, Microsoft, Web video
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Apple pokes fun at Microsoft over Vista ads

In what surely ranks as the adland in-joke of the year, Apple's Mac and PC return to comment on Microsoft's marketing efforts in the spot above from TBWA Media Arts Lab. Apple avoids skewering the content of Vista commercials (Seinfeld-Gates, "I'm a PC," etc.) in favor of the context, as Mac chides PC for earmarking wads of cash for Vista advertising but only a small stack of bills to fix the operating system itself. PC promptly sees the error of his ways in the spot's humorous payoff. It's a quietly amusing 30 seconds that speaks volumes compared to Microsoft's reported $300 million barrage. Though I still liked Seinfeld and Gates as a team.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Apple, Gianatasio, Microsoft, TBWA, Technology
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Bill Gates unwittingly stars in condom ad

As his co-starring role in the Microsoft videos showed, Bill Gates doesn't mind being in the occasional ad. But he might be surprised to see his likeness—or more accurately, a penis dressed up to look like him—in this graphic, bizarre, NSFW condom campaign from Belgium. "I finally discovered an efficient antivirus!!" says copy on the Gates ad. Another penis is dressed up like John Lennon, who isn't around to complain. A third is perhaps supposed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are also two generic characters called "Hot Shot" and "Icedick." Advertolog credits the ads to an agency called Troy.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Condoms, Europe, Microsoft, Nudd
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What about those 'I'm a PC' ads, anyway?

We've been oddly silent on Microsoft's new "I'm a PC" ads by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Probably this is because they're good, and saying Microsoft ads are good is like asking for a smackdown with a folding chair. The three spots are a long-overdue rallying cry for Microsoft fans. I've whined before about how Microsoft is sadly unable to connect with its followers. These spots stand up for PC users against the slings and arrows of a monkey-faced Justin Long. Granted, they're two years late, and I still don't get how the Jerry Seinfeld ads functioned as a "first phase" of the campaign. But these are small gripes now that MS has finally woken up and realized it needs to build some community pride around its brand. Adland thinks it's a mistake for a software company like Microsoft to take direct aim at a software and hardware company like Apple. But people don't really distinguish. When their Dell motherboard melts down, they say they hate Microsoft. (The very term "PC" no longer means "personal computer" but "device running Windows.") And Apple keeps ranking on Vista, so why not respond, particularly if you focus not on Apple bashing but on PC cheerleading? I agree with Adrants, which says the ads are charming compared to Apple's "If you're not with us, you're against us" attitude. PC fanatics who've been silently loathing the Apple message for the past two years may soon be able to rise up, in their suits or their glasses or maybe even their headbands, and shout, "I'm a PC! And Bill Gates is my wobbly-assed homeboy!"

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Filed under Apple, Crispin Porter, Cullers, Microsoft, Technology
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Microsoft anti-Mac work was made on Mac

Just as Microsoft and Crispin Porter + Bogusky tried to play down the wreck of the HMS Conquistador by quickly launching their new “I’m a PC” spots, another PR snafu has swept the blogosphere. Looking at data embedded in Microsoft’s online photos from the campaign, a savvy Flickr user found that the images were created using Adobe software on a Macintosh (versus, say, Microsoft Expression Studio on a PC). The incriminating data was removed the next day, but the damage was done. Maybe there’s a new adage to be learned here: You can take the Mac out of the ad, but you can’t take the ad out of the Mac. Via Blake Helms on Twitter.

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Crispin Porter, Griner, Microsoft
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Seinfeld, Gates make way for regular folks

When Valleywag reported late Wednesday that Microsoft was canceling its Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates campaign (or "moving on to phase two," however they wanna spin it), my immediate reaction was: Those guys in Redmond, Wash., are a bunch of wussies. Sure, I was one of the few commentators who liked the spots. But I stand by that opinion, just like I continue to stand by Betamax! Those Microsoft teasers roused intense interest in the brand and—for two weeks, at least—humanized Gates, a man who previously seemed unlikable even when he gave away billions of dollars to charity. Now, instead of a feel-good, brand-friendly Abbott and Costello routine, Microsoft will apparently attempt to redefine Apple's "I'm a PC" line in ads, also by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, that will feature regular people (and a few celebs) who use Vista. Never mind that most people can't even load Vista! UPDATE: As for the news that a John Hodgman clone will appear in Microsoft's latest salvo, I'm hurt and dismayed that I didn't get the part. I gained 20 pounds for the audition! OK, 10 pounds. Five? You win: I actually slimmed down for the role. Happy now?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Crispin Porter, Gianatasio, Microsoft, Technology
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Gates and Seinfeld want to be regular guys

Those who keep panning Microsoft's Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates campaign will soon be eating crow. (A subject I know something about, thank you A-Rod for a half-assed effort all year.) Sure, there's much one could dislike about the initiative: Seinfeld, Gates, Microsoft, Crispin Porter + Bogusky. And yet these elements, deadly on their own, somehow fuse into a pleasingly goofy whole. It's tough to turn away, and the buzz keeps building. This latest (nearly five-minute!) installment, posted above, finds the guys slumming in suburbia to learn how it feels to be average Joes. Jerry cracks wise ("I've got so many cars, I get stuck in my own traffic") and Bill does the robot dance. It plays like Seinfeld crossed with The Brady Bunch and an unintentionally bad PBS documentary. Seinfeld's show, one of the most enduring hits in the history of electronic media, was famously about nothing. And these spots are about nothing much. So at least they can't do any real harm. Which is more than you can say for Windows Vista.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Crispin Porter, Gianatasio, Microsoft, Technology
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PC tries an op-ed in his battle against Mac

Apple's done quite a few of these Flash-based PC and Mac ads, but the latest one, designed to run on news sites (and currently live on NYTimes.com), is especially well rendered, as PC drags a news-style text box onscreen to literally put himself in the story. John Hodgman makes some truly funny faces, while Justin Long, scowling down from above, at one point looks like a monkey. When I saw this clip, my immediate reaction was: Here's the first Mac/PC ad I've seen since Microsoft debuted its Seinfeld-Gates extravaganza last Friday. And I wondered how Jerry and Bill would fare in such a set-up. I know most people hate the Microsoft spot, but if nothing else, it makes you look at Apple's marketing efforts in a new light—and that's got to be some kind of progress. Would I switch to a PC running Windows Vista? Lord, no! Though I do seem to get that spinning pizza of death icon popping up on my Mac an awful lot. I blame Justin Long. Bad monkey!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Apple, Gianatasio, John Hodgman, Microsoft, Web video
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Seinfeld and Gates get all moist and chewy

Most pundits seem to dislike Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first Microsoft commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. But to debate its specific merit or lack thereof misses the point. To crib a theme from blogger and Adweek columnist Joe Jaffe, the brand has opened a conversation with consumers. The campaign has been as widely anticipated as Super Bowl advertising. And the spot itself shows that a give and take is possible. It's goofy and non-threatening and makes Gates's software behemoth appear approachable, even likeable. That alone is a big victory. Consider: Would Steve Jobs ever adjust his underwear in a commercial? Would he have paid staffers to do it for him? Just yesterday, that was the kind of quip I'd level at Gates. Today, however, Apple and its beloved (but suddenly a bit antiseptic-looking) series with Mac and PC seem aloof and even smug compared to Bill and Jerry kibitzing at the mall. Maybe Jobs should get on his iPhone and get reinforcements. What's Michael Richards doing these days?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Crispin Porter, Gianatasio, Microsoft, TV
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What's that, someone defending Microsoft?

The Mojave Experiment, a Microsoft PR effort unrelated to the upcoming Crispin campaign, went live at the end of July. In a simple taste-test experiment, they asked people who had never tried Vista how they felt about Vista. Then they showed them a little demo of Windows' new "Mojave" OS, which the participants liked, and revealed that it was actually Vista! Historically, this sort of campaign has been huge in the food arena, from secretly replacing Folger's Crystals to the recent Pizza Hut pasta fake-out. But for an OS? The tech bloggers have been trading blows for the past month, making their allegiances known. Most of it is blatant Vista bashing. But for me, the most interesting thing I noticed trolling the forums is that Microsoft actually has a group of followers willing to defend it against anything. They may not be as loud as Mac lovers are, but they're there, staunchly voicing their general approval of Microsoft. If MS could manage to band its existing fans together, it could have its own cult of devoted users willing to forgive anything, just like Apple has. Before any members of the Sacred Apple iOrder lynch me for the suggestion, consider this: How would you feel if Apple had conducted the Mojave Experiment?

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Filed under Apple, Cullers, Microsoft, Technology
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What will Jerry Seinfeld do for Microsoft?

I've taken the liberty of writing a script for the first Jerry Seinfeld spot for Microsoft's big upcoming campaign. I set it against a white background. Seinfeld is dressed like Justin Long from the Apple ads. Bill Gates plays the John Hodgman character. Because associating Microsoft with Apple can only help.
  Gates: Jerry Seinfeld! I haven't seen you since your show went off the air 10 years ago.
  Seinfeld: That's true, Bill Gates. Now, I'm just a rich has-been aging ungracefully in public.
  Gates: I know the feeling.
  (canned laughter; doorbell rings)
  Seinfeld: There's our pizza!

Click to read more ...

Filed under Apple, Celebrity endorsements, Gianatasio, Microsoft, Technology
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