Last week when Microsoft aired their first Windows ad, a lot of you had lots to say about it. Some of you thought that the commercial simply wasn’t funny while others of you thought that despite the fact there was no direct message, at least they were getting the logo out. We were left pretty confused as to the direction this ad campaign would take, but now that Microsoft has released a second ad, we are starting to get an idea of where it’s headed. Take a look below at the latest ad (it’s over four minutes):
The way we interpret it is that eventually they will bring everything together and the first commercial with the shoes was to represent that you need to find the shoe that fits right, or in the case of Vista, the right version for you whether it be Home Premium or Ultimate. This second commercial could be used to show that Vista is for “real” people since Gates and Seinfeld were living in the “real” world with “real” people.
We’re not sure what they have in store for future ads, but rumor has it that eventually the commercials will become more focused on Vista. So far the commercials have been a little confusing but it is definitely getting people talking, and I think there’s a much bigger picture here that we aren’t able to see yet. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to finding out what else they have in store.
Thanks for the tip Oliver!
While still didn’t really make sense, not as confusing as the first ad. Or may be it is was the first ad was weird in that we weren’t expecting to see Gates & Seinfeld doing a commercial together.
To me, the second ad is as confusing as the first. Maybe Microsoft should send an SOS signal to the Apple Camp and ask for help. Apple knows how to create ads with a message.
The 1984 Super Bowl ad (the athlete with a sledgehammer) is a classic example of a meaningful ad.
Was that suppose to be a (funny?) commercial? Or was that a lame episode of a dead TV show?
I think the message is still as confusing as the first, but the overall content was a bit less annoying to try to grasp. At least it did not seem as lame and shows a bit of promise that these adds are headed in a definite direction. Maybe in the end it will redeem itself, but that remains to be seen.
Meh, doesn’t do to much for me…
Still lame, still not funny, still confusing. Perhaps a little bit less bad than the first yes..
Apple has to laughing all the way to the bank. No wonder Vista came out with so many problems.
Call me crazy but I’m getting really interested in these ads. Of course you can spend time figuring out all the metaphors but it’s more a peice of entertainment for now then an advertisement for a Microsoft product.
Positive or not people talk about these ads online.
You’re crazy
With this last ad I’ve definitely become more interested in them as well PhoenixP3K. This one seemed to make a little more sense than the last one, and I’ll admit that I’m actually looking forward to the rest now.
They’re going to get somewhere with all of this, it’s just a matter of time. Hopefully it’ll all come together for them. If these ads are a flop, the advertising/marketing firm they are paying big bucks to would be to blame.
I like this second ad, but it’s not gonna get me to buy Vista.
As a long time marketer, I can assure you the ad firm is never to blame. They don’t make the decisions, only put forth suggestions.
And as a marketer, it is always good to have folks talking about you, but there needs to actually be somthing to talk about rather than these unfocused ramblings that really take a very harsh view of ordinary people, and set up MS Crew as the only sane people in the universe.
A metaphor that is not understood is not a message. Not even a puzzle. Any talk is better than none, the condescending attitude of Bill and son toward “the people” is very typical of MS all along. It captures well their essence without offering anything attractive to the people who they desire to persuade.
It amounts to “we know what we are doing, and no one else does.”
Apple has to love this!
@Wandering:
I couldn’t agree with you more.
I don’t know what they’re trying to achieve, but it was really funny. To see Bill Gates doing the robot is priceless.
Still doesnt make sense considering the much better ads IBM made about Linux.
I’m thinking along the same lines as Pieter. It doesn’t matter to me if the ads are great or terrible – I just built my own computer, and I put XP on it. I’m not planning on buying Vista no matter how great or terrible it really would be. It really comes down to the fact that there really is no feature or group of features in Vista that I’m willing to pay for – I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.