Microsoft -- You Need To Convince A Lot Of People

[dr_phil_physics]

The Lamest Windows Campaign Ever?

Two weeks ago I ragged on Microsoft's ads for Windows 7 which featured this little girl cutting and pasting blurbs about Windows 7 into pictures with animals. Well, there are now at least three versions of this ad. All have different animal graphics. And all HAVE THE SAME SET OF PRO-WINDOWS 7 BLURBS.

Come on, Microsoft. For crying out loud, your new OS is coming out in just a few weeks. And all you've done for the last few weeks is try to convince me that Windows 7 is a great OS for toddlers. This is your great marketing plan? For this you want me to abandon Windows XP Pro? Dream on.

Fire your advertising company and fire the middle-management layer that approved this crap.

Or are you telling me that Windows 7 is so lame and so flawed, that you can't even figure out how to sell it? After all, you had the silly Windows Mojave (equals Vista) ads where people went gah-gah over computers that didn't even do anything for them.

Do you remember why we bought computers in the first place? I don't know about anyone else, but I do work on them. My work. NOT your work. So you're damned OS better work. But you're not convincing me about this new Windows. Really, you're not.

Those Mac Ads

The Mac & PC ads? Those ads are so kicking Microsoft's butt from one end of the country to another. Even people I know who would never buy a Mac find them funny. And there are a LOT of them. Typically I see about 2 or 3 in rotation at any given time. Like right now, I've seen (1) PC in a Mac guy suit and telling the person to buy a PC instead, (2) the one with the suave Top Of The Line PC who tells the lady to call, "when you're ready to compromise", and (3) the one with the bubble wrap and the cupholders. Cupholders! Not only was that a joke in the hey-day of the minivan and the SUV, but a staple joke of the IT tech support world is about the cupholder (CD tray) in the PC not working right.

Those Other Windows Ads

The campaign about You Find It, We'll Buy It? You know, a lot of people will compromise on what they'll buy if someone is in the parking lot willing to give them cash to buy what they want them to buy. Smooth move. I'd get a Vista laptop if someone else was paying for it. Of course I might put a Virtual PC or VMware on it so I can run Windows XP Professional. Because if it was MY machine after YOU bought it, why I'd be able to run anything I want in order get some work done.

But giving people money to buy your own machines doesn't seem like a sustainable business model.

Me? I'm not very excited about the Windows 7 future.

Sorry.

Dr. Phil

Comments

[mgsmurf.livejournal.com]

They don't need to advertise. If you buy a new computer (and most computers need replacing every few years unless you know how to work on them), you will be getting the new version of windows.

What advertising is needed? They have an almost monopoly on OS. Either you buy a Mac to not have windows, or you buy a PC and must have windows. You can yourself after purchase wipe the HD and install Linux or an older version of windows. But most people do not have the computer knowledge or time to do so.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's all true. But if people start equating Windows 7 with childish things ONLY, not only is that Microsoft's fault but I can't see any upside to that for them.

What pisses me off is that Microsoft does these large ad buys -- they blew over a $100,000,000 on the Seinfeld/Gates ad campaign which not only didn't make sense but got pulled before we found out where the "story" was going.

I'd rather they spent $100,000,000 and fix the known defects in existing versions of Windows, rather than wasting ad money and spending untold millions developing NEW defects in new versions of Windows.

The machines are going to come with Windows installed because of their pricing deals with the manufacturers anyway. Let's get a GOOD one.

Dr. Phil

[ckastens.livejournal.com]

Have you seen those "throw a Window party" ads? Make me want to "throw what I ate for lunch on the floor".

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Yes, they're all about goodies for ME, ME and I. If it's something akin to a Tupperware party, I can just sit back and be horrified at the thought of the parlor games which will come in the kits.

That and some of the people I'd expect to sign up to host these parties would be the WORST people I can think of to try to sell people on a new OS.

There's got to be something wrong with the water on the MS campus...

Dr. Phil

[wendyb-09.livejournal.com]

Many years ago I had a file called Coke & a Smile that popped open the CD drive when you ran it. Still have it on the old Windows98 laptop... a laptop that STILL WORKS by the way!!

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

I have a directory which still has some files backed up from the VAX-11/750 at Michigan Tech. One of the files is a little executable called COKE.EXE which draws a picture of a small Coke bottle on the screen of a VT-220 terminal. Norton keeps on wanting to quarantine it because it might be virus. Um, it's not even an 80x86 executable file. (grin) But thanks for playing our home game.

Dr. Phil

[jerimrl.livejournal.com]

I'd have to agree w/ mgsmurf -- why spend such a huge budget on advertising if your product is packaged with every new computer sold and is non-optional? Why not dedicate that budget to, oh, say---TESTING??? ;)

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Part of the problem is that Microsoft tends to test things the way they use them at Redmond. As a result, they seem perpetually surprised at how their programs get used in the real world. Why does Word default to Times New Roman 10 and 1.25" margins? Because that's the specs for Microsoft internal memos. Doesn't everyone do it the way we do it? Uh, apparently not.

No wonder they can't find their bugs.

Dr. Phil