The Apple and Microsoft ads
The second Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates has appeared, and Cameron Hunt makes this observation:
“Excluding their visually rich iPod ads, Apple’s commercials focus strongly on product; their Get A Mac campaign humorously illustrates the differences between Windows PCs and Macs, while the iPhone is advertised by simply showing the device’s innovative interface … The ‘Jerry and Bill’ advertisements, so far, only mention product in vague terms, usually resulting in a very stale routine of Seinfeld asking Gates about a “goldfish with a website” or edible computers.”
The interesting thing is that, for years, the opposite was true. Microsoft’s ads touted features while Apple’s were abstract. The “Window” iMac ad is a perfect example:
Today, Apple has abandoned the abstract for concrete information, and Microsoft has eliminated any mention of their products.
So what are those ads about? Well, they aren’t about Windows, and that’s the point. Vista is troublesome. XP is old. “PC,” as played by John Hodgman, is a self-conscious, out-of-touch dweeb in a drab, beige suit. Everyone (and I mean everyone) knows what Windows is. Everyone uses Microsoft products. They needn’t be told about either yet again.
The new ads are about associations. Jerry is funny, and by pairing him with Bill Gates (who, dare I say, actually seems kind of cool in these ads), Microsoft hopes that some of his snarky humor will become associated with their products in the consumers’ minds.
I like them a lot. They’re quirky, they make Bill Gates (arguably the quintessential geek), seem cool and they make me laugh. Apple fanboys will dismiss them as nonsensical, but they’re wrong. These ads are great.
No, they aren’t about Windows, Office, etc. That’s the point.
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Michael Mistretta offers a counterpoint, while Daniel Jalkut and and Adam Lisagor agree.
Daniel Jalkut:
“…these ads are not meant to influence the immediate buying patterns of viewers, but instead to alter the long-term impression of the company that develops and markets the world’s leading desktop computer operating system.”
Exactly right.
September 14th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
They appeal to me too, and make Bill seem like an affable guy with a great sense of humour.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
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