So many things I want to say. But I won’t.

They did a better job on this one. But I still find it about as flawed as a chinese toy at a dollar store.

I wonder how much HP paid Microsoft to be the laptop of choice?

When’s the last time a clerk at a computer store paid attention to you? Better yet when’s the last time they were wearing a suit and a tie and could answer any question beyond “do you have that in stock?”…

Last time a clerk at a computer store paid attention to me (and had half a clue)… Apple Store. Suit – nope. T-Shirt & jeans – check!

Last a time a clerk paid attention to me prior to that – Best Buy. Two of them in fact, one in the Apple section, one in the PC section. Suit nope. Clueless (beyond if it was in stock) – check!

I wonder if they borrowed the sales guy from the used car dealership. He had the whole option, option , hit em with the low price thing down pat.

Last time a clerk paid attention to me in a store, it was very obvious that they knew what was on the sales sheet and nothing more. In fact, he could not even tell me anything beyond what was on the shelf card. The time before that, the guy went to get a key to open a display case and never came back.

Doug

@Brandon. In terms of accuracy, these ads are, I would say, on about the same level of accuracy as the I’m a PC/I’m a Mac ads. Those ads espoused quite a few half-truths and mostly lies about the PC’s, so why is this any different?

As for HP, yeah. I noticed the same thing. It would be interesting to see them pick a Dell or something like that.

Accuracy phhht, it’s about marketing, nothing to do with the hardware. Making an impression that Windows is cool, and that Vista is a long forgotten behemoth that has been superseded, a bit like the way Windows ME passed by with an incredible squirm.
me and Vista were an attempt to release Beta’s without calling them Beta’s, “Microsoft are always right”

Both the I’m a Mac/I’m a PC ad and these latest MS ads are geared toward making one look more cool/hip than the other. Peter is right. Neither ad campaign has anything to do with actual specs/usability. Just making one look more accessible or more hip than the other.

In different ways, I think both aqre extremely effective ad campaigns.

@Peter – “Vista is a long forgotten behemoth that has been superseded” … but it hasn’t and it isn’t. Visturd is still the OS that Microsoft is loading on OEM systems unless you pay a downgrade fee (if its even offered as an option). Windows 7 for all the noise we’ve seen lately isn’t available on the market.

@Doug – If Giampaolo is the definition of what’s cool and hip… shoot me now.

@ Brandon – Theoretically, the fail whale Visturd, is superseded, even if it’s by downgrading to XP or using the Windows 7 Beta! Just a simple observation, but I think a pertinent one! The fact that I don’t see any huge response by Vista fanboy’s, sort of confirms that to me!

Giampaolo is cool, NOT!

@Peter, I disagree. Vista, whether you love it or hate it, is still the MS flagship OS. Just because people are not using it does not mean it has been superceded. It would be more accurate to say that it is soon to be superceded by Windows 7.

I have been a commercial afficionado for a long time. I’m the guy that complains when people want to flip through the commercials. Not to mention the game is not the only time I tune in during the Superbowl.

I think Microsoft has been missing the mark on their commercials since the beginning. They have been unable to successfully brand themselves in the mind of the comsumer. With this commercial they missed the mark again. The only thing I got out of it is that Giampaulo is looking for a computer that has a long battery life. Is a long battery life more a function of the machine or the software (hmmm). Microsoft has a branding problem in the consumer market and they would do well to figure that out.

Interesting take, Sidney. To be honest, I disagree with you that MS has a branding problem. A focus problem, maybe. Overexposure for sure. But branding, I think, is not an issue. Everyone knows MS and Windows. Now, Windows Mobile, on the other hand, I would agree with you.

I agree with you Dgoldring that focus is a problem. Also, what I meant in the last post about MS having a branding problem, what I meant is that there is no MS has failed to create a brand that conjures up an emotional experience in the mind of the consumer. What to you think of when I say Microsoft? You might think of MS Windows and you might think of MS Office. On the other hand what do you think of when I say Apple computer or Mac. You think of fun, hip, youthful, easy to use. You think of those things because of the remarkable branding job Apple has done. Apple computers are really no more hip, easy to use, than a lot of the PC’s but Apple’s appeal in the marketplace is that it is hip and the cool people use them. I think Apple has probably done a better job at branding Microsoft or PC’s than Microsoft has done for itself. I also think this is the failure of a lot of the tech companies. They have to learn to create brands that consumers can connect to emotionally and not focus on the features or technical aspects of their offerings.

OK, Sidney. I do agree with you there, especially on that last part. Love apple or Hate em, Steve Jobs is a master of marketing. All the way back to the Mac 1984 ads.

Doug