Microsoft has an image problem. Vista is flagging badly, and has been almost since it first launched. The Mac vs. PC ads make them look wonky and ridiculous. They are losing market share to Apple, more every day. Our office now consists entirely of Mac users. One year ago today, it would have been the opposite (or at least half and half.) It’s no longer just college students buying Macs.
No one WANTS Vista. Some actively try to avoid it, and others accept it in a desultory and resigned fashioned, but no one seeks it out. No one’s excited to own Windows. They might be excited to own a new PC or notebook, but no one’s excited about their new Windows operating system.
OK. Let’s put ourselves in Microsoft’s shoes. Our product stinks, but we still have more money than god. (Everyone keeps buying MS Office, thank the stars) What do we do? We launch a marketing campaign. How do we do it? Do we seek out the edge? Look to be non-conforming? Try to explore what it is that HAS made us successful with consumers, and try to identify with them on that basis? No. We bring in a celebrity spokesperson. Sigh.
John Paczkowski wrote about Microsoft’s intentions to bring in Jerry Seinfeld (along with ex-CEO and MS founder Bill Gates) to spearhead a campaign about Microsoft. I heartily agree with John’s assessment that this “does more to illustrate the sad differences between the two companies than the “Mac vs. PC” ads it’s designed to combat.” This campaign smacks of desperation.
Harry McCracken from Technologizer also wrote a great piece about this topic, a list of his thoughts regarding a campaign which he freely admits neither he (nor anyone else) has yet seen. No 9 on his list spoke strongly to me, and was the impetus for this post. Harry writes:
“9. “Windows, Not Walls?” It’s hard to gauge what that slogan means until you see the ads. (That may not be a good sign: Maxwell House doesn’t need to explain “Good to the Last Drop” to anybody.) At first blush, it sounds a little geeky. What are the walls? Who erected them? Apple? The Web? Do normal people worry about technological walls, or know what they are?”
I think Harry is dead-on. A slogan’s meaning should be abundantly evident and crystal clear. When you’re putting together an ad campaign that’s supposed to change / alter / affect / engage / convince and otherwise speak to a mass group of consumers, you should *not* use techy jargon, language that has no meaning or frame of reference to most people. I can only assume (I, like everyone else, have not seen this campaign, and so this IS an assumption which I may have to retract) that “walls” refer to a “walled garden.” Apple is a famous example of a walled garden, a company, ecosystem, and/or series of products wherein third parties can not tamper, hack, or build upon it (except with limited 3rd party exceptions (like software products.))
This jargon does not make sense to most people. It does not pull people in, make them feel connected, or invite them to share in the experience. Apple’s Mac vs. PC campaign with Justin Long and John Hodgman is edgy, funny, silly, etc. Under no circumstances will can Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates talking about computers be edgy, funny, or silly. Apple has not only developed a product that makes people feel excited to use it, they’ve marketed in a way that attracts and energizes their customers. The way this new MS campaign is being described makes it sound like Microsoft is hell bent on doing the exact opposite.
Microsoft has an ever-shrinking audience. They’ve had the lion’s share of the market for many years, and it’s hard to keep growing indefinitely, but they’re getting beaten up in the press and in the marketplace. This is well known, well traveled territory. Everyone knows that they’re flagging badly, and it’s clear to many of us that Jerry Seinfeld, celebrity spokesperson, is not the solution. Great. So what SHOULD Microsoft do?
It depends on their goals. Do they want to re-capture lost customers? Do they want to attract a younger demographic? Lots of Windows users are angry, tired and frustrated, and that’s what caused them to switch to Macs. That was my experience, after a terrible time with a new Vista laptop. But Macs aren’t perfect either, and lots of ex-Windows users might switch back to Windows if they felt a.) that the product spoke to them, and B.) that it was reliable and effective.
In my opinion, Microsoft should do one of two things:
1. They should be interesting. They should avoid the average and the retired. Build a campaign around stability and success. You want a celebrity spokesperson? Try Michael Phelps. Not Jerry Seinfeld. But better yet, forget celebrity spokespeople. Bring in a new “face” of Windows, someone young, attractive, and interesting. The Windows McDreamy (but not actually Patrick Dempsey.)
2. Be totally un-original, get into the trenches, and lampoon the apple ads. These should not be mean. They should be friendly, but assertive. Microsoft should be fighting back. They should be doing market research, figure out where Apple has weaknesses (and they do: security, quality control, price, etc.) Apple is obviously targeting them. While I don’t advocate being petty, I do think it’s OK to give someone a taste of their own medicine. Tackle it head on, people will respect you more. If it’s done right. ;)
It’s probably a moot point. Microsoft is too ponderous and large to make an agile decision, and they’re certainly not listening to me. But it seems clear that they are receiving (and listening to) bad advice. I don’t see ANY appeal to this campaign’s messaging, slogan, or it’s representatives. I think Microsoft needs to stop and reevaluate. Who are your customers? What does your product do for them. How do you want to position yourself in the market? How do you want to message yourself to those consumers. When Microsoft was the only game in town, a lot of that didn’t matter. Monopolies have their advantages (as long as you’re the monopolizer.) Microsoft now faces ever-growing competition, and they need to re-think all those strategies. Otherwise they will continue to bleed users.
I still use PC’s, though my notebook is a Mac. I’m writing this post on a desktop PC I built myself only 7 or 8 months ago. It’s running XP.
