In an effort to restore Vista’s image, Microsoft rolled out with its highly anticipated $300 million campaign. Once the first two advertising ads, featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, were released, people appeared very confused and dissapointed of the idea, as it didn’t provide any message and it was hard to connect it with the company, except for the fact that it starred Gates.
After just two weeks, Microsoft announced that the videos with Seinfeld will no longer be shown, with the campaign moving into its next phase. Even though many were expecting the company to admit that the campaign was a failure and that this was just a damage control effort, Microsoft claims that it was all part of the plan and that the first two ads set the mood for the things to come. "We didn't want to string people along to the point where it would become frustrating," explained David Webster, Microsoft's brand marketing general manager, referring to the first two ads as "teasers."
"The next planned step" for the campaign involves a series of ads called I’m a PC, which is Microsoft’s response to Apple’s popular campaign from a few years back. Some call it a good move while others were willing to give Seinfeld another chance. The original plan was to change the general perception on Microsoft and Vista and the first ads had the potential to do that. The new campaign appears to be set on attacking Apple (even though not upfront) and this sends out a negative message and it also proves that Microsoft is indeed scared of Apple.
At this point the focus should be on developing the security updates needed in order to stop the incoming negative reports that started the whole situation. Even though Microsoft refuses to fully admit, Vista caused massive damage for the company. For some, it worked just fine, making their work and fun times a lot better - just as the commercial portrayed it; unfortunately, for most of its buyers it was nothing but trouble, leading to a large number of downgrade requests.
Returning to the present situation, Microsoft is also asking its users to upload videos with themselves using its products while declaring I’m a PC, to show their loyalty.
"We know we have supporters and fanboys and enthusiasts who have been wanting to have a platform where they can talk about why they like PCs," said David Webster, a few days ago. He explained that people everywhere do all sort of things with their PCs everyday and Microsoft wants to tell their story because it is its story too.
The ad will include a large group of individuals with different backgrounds, such as musicians, farmers, merchants, researchers and even Bill Gates testifying that they are "a PC."
If the plan will work or not it is probably too soon to tell, but one thing is for sure - people everywhere are talking about the campaign and when it comes to advertising, this is probably in the top three most important aspects of the work.
