Microsoft is launching (another) new commercial campaign Thursday night. It takes aim at Apple’s “Mac vs. PC†campaign that has portrayed personal computers running Windows as clunky and uncool. After two weeks of three teaser ads “about nothing” featuring Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and comic Jerry Seinfeld, the company launched a new TV ad that directly addresses the long-running Apple campaign that personifies its Mac as a young, hip guy and a Windows PC as a clueless geek.
The commercial starts with a real-life Windows engineer who looks eerily similar to John Hodgman (the comedian who plays the role of “PC†in Apple’s commercials), saying “I’m a PC and I’ve been made into a stereotype.† The other approach they are taking is in expanding the list of celebrities to make appearances in their ads, including more “hip†stars like Deepak Chopra, Eva Longoria and Pharrell Williams. Microsoft are trying to use these popular names to re-connect with their large audience, which they have estranged to some extent; this approach is not as innovative, but is more of a safe bet, as the only reaction they have managed to elicit so far with the Seinfeld/Gates duo is a raised eyebrow.
The second phase of their campaign will also expand to include other mediums such as magazine print ads and outdoor advertising. These two latter forms will emphasize the ability of Windows to scale from mobile devices and TV sets to notebooks and traditional PCs. Still Microsoft, good job on these videos. If I were Apple I would counter them just to make this winter funnier!
