Clients sometimes expect the impossible or have unrealistic expectations about their brands. How many times are you given an assignment for something that has a lot going against it in terms of negative perceptions.But the nature of advertising is such that you don’t always get to pick the ideal client or product, yet you accept the challenge anyway. Not that you can make Windows cool per se in this case, but maybe trying to get some attention for the brand and inject a little life is enough at this point considering how long people have dogged it.
Lotta people gave the early Seinfeld work crap for being different, but I wanted to see where it went, because I figured it’d make an interesting case study down the road if they were able to change some of those perceptions. (When asked early in the run about the campaign, Crispin wasn’t able to talk about specific objectives because of confidentiality issues, so you’re left to speculate as to what their strategy was.)
The campaign though is well into that next phase and is doing what I thought would always be a good move: presenting Windows’ users as everyday people and not just cubicle dwelling slaves to “The Man.”
Yep, Apple has the cool thing down. The shit’s just engineered into its DNA so you don’t really have to work hard in ads to sustain that message. Windows? Nowhere near as intuitive as a Mac, or arguably as cool, but it does have the market. (Tell me Jobs is really happy with 5% of the market.)
My other theory in part blames the IBMs of the world for saddling Microsoft with this worker cubicle drone baggage that the majority of computing/tech spots tend to have. All the dark, lifeless commercials about enterprise solutions, generic business solutions or (insert solution) have done more than enough to paint the entire PC world as, well, dark and lifeless. Windows couldn’t help but be boring by association. Changing that perception would be a major task for anyone.
Still, where Mac took the understated cool/easy-to-use approach in the Mac vs. PC work, this is just as genuine, albeit in a different way: Kids using technology and playing on their own the way kids do. I was watching the NCAAs this weekend and trying not to get killed in the brackets as this series ran all day. It's simple, direct and drives you to a site to continue that vibe.
Make Microsoft relevant, even cool. Yeah, I know, a lot of people say they should focus on making the product work, first. Well, when as an agency the client won’t let you do the latter, all you can do is either walk away or focus on the former.
Tags: Windows photo gallery
5 comments:
Bill: I think it's a less about making it cool than about making it not-as-uncool.
Apple is what you wantto have.
Microsoft is what you have to have. (Because your company insists on it)
If you can make having to have a PC seem slightly less uncool and less painful, I think you'll have done all you can do.
But let's not forget, MS has a powerful weapon. Because while Mac was "The computer for the rest of us," That rest of us part implied elitism.
The PC is the computer of the common man. It's cheaper, it's approachable and it's ubiquitous. No one has ever even bother to leverage these three huge advantages before now, other than through predatory sales practices. So it will be interesting what will happens over time as this brand is built. I think this message of accessibility will play very nicely in a down market and carry through into an even more dominant future.
Or it could all blow up in their faces. But I'll give them 2 to 1 odds. :)
@Alan - Good point. I rephrased that because I’m sure that objective wasn’t on the table for them. ;-p.
@Bob - *ponders 10:1*
Trying to reposition a brand that's been around for 25 years, and dominates the market is kind of silly. Stop trying to sell it as a lifestyle accessory, and market it as what is--a cheap, dependable, useful tool. People don't by Craftsman or Mac tools because they're cool, they buy them because they let them do the job. And for what most people want to do with a computer, the PC fits into that mold.
Don't sell the box, sell what it does....connect to the friends and family, shop, and explore. Maybe something guerrilla viral that points out you don't need a MacBook Pro to whack off to porn.
The 7 vs 70 ad is cute, but how many people are really going to do that? By pushing the message that it's easy to use, they acknowledge and somewhat reinforce the perception that it's not user friendly.
Microsoft needs to remember that while people like the idea of Abercrombie & Fitch, Target and Walmart get most of the customers.
New branding statement? How about, Microsoft. We are what we are.
Hmpf.
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