WTF: Part Deux (in Shaner's absence) - Our Blog

WTF: Part Deux (in Shaner’s absence)

Posted by Shawn Patriquin, on September 23, 2008

Let me preamble this post by saying, 'Shaner I'm not trying to steal your direction here, but you are on holidays and I believe that what I have just witnessed deserves an immediate post'.

So I'm chilling after a long day with a glass of vino watching a new episode of House on Fox, and am reflecting on my email to staff about our continued commitment to our Blog and importance of keeping it up to date and relevant and, at the same time, thinking that I should Blog it up tonight. So, I think of topics – the reno upstairs, the connectivity of the ipod, my thoughts on Obama becoming President in the US....hmmm, to blog or not to blog?

Then I see it! A 60 second commercial for Microsoft titled 'I'm a PC' > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi1se9rH7S8. Talk about WTF? This is airing 1 week after they (Microsoft) cancelled the Seinfeld campaign (which was nonsense) that my co-worker Shane blogged about and that we all watched in disappointment as it came out of one of the hottest ad shops in the world. I had to ask myself > Was this just a PR stunt (the ridiculous/useless Seinfeld spot) to get people talking? Perhaps. Nevertheless, the follow-up was more than WEAK and, instead of positioning Microsoft as progressive, it made them look like more of a 'me-too' than ever. Hell, they even impersonated the 'I'm a PC guy' from the MAC commercials.

So, here's the thing > what makes the MAC spots so brilliant (other than their mass appeal), not only are they are brilliantly written & casted, they are somewhat low budget as they present low production costs. More importantly, the extendibility of these spots are infinite, and can continue with any direction Apple takes. They are not tied to celebrities, athletes, musicians or jean designers. They are nondescript and speak to the core benefits of the product, in an Indie kinda way.

Here's my last comment, (keep in mind that we are a relatively small shop in a smaller market), I said to the team, 'I would never want that challenge (even for $300 mill) to try and make Microsoft as cool as Apple. It's impossible. And, based on what I've seen, CP+B is finding it to be as well. Then again, if all they (Microsoft) were looking for was an Apple knock-off ad campaign endorsed by celebs, athletes, designers, astronauts, scientists and political figures, I could have done it for $100 million.

Lates.