After a long dry spell, Microsoft has quite randomly debuted a new “I’m a PC” ad. It’s at least as stupid as it’s predecessors:
MacDailyNews Take: Let’s just try to forget about the ridiculous concept of turning someone’s house into a fsckified PC store without her knowledge and move on some other issues contained within this mess.
“So there is no tower anymore?” Yes, love, since June 5, 1977, with the release of the Apple II. Or, in case you missed that one, since January 24, 1984, with the release of something called “Macintosh.” Or, in case you missed even that, since August 15, 1998, with the release of the iMac.
With these ads, Microsoft seems intent on reinforcing the fact that those who waste their money on Windows PCs are vapid, pissy, ill-informed twits with hideous haircuts destined for severe cases of gorilla arm. That’s some selling point.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Related articles:
New Microsoft ad ‘Giampaolo’ targets sticker-priced-obsessed PC buyers (with video) – April 4, 2009
Slate: Microsoft tries to peddle Windows as ‘The Poor Man’s Mac’ – April 02, 2009
Microsoft’s anti-Apple ad ‘Lauren’ reeks of fear, nastiness – April 02, 2009
Congrats, Lauren! You’re a ‘PC’ and now you own a $699 Piece o’ Crap – March 29, 2009
FOXNews discusses Microsoft’s ad for cheap, under-powered, ill-equipped PC laptops – March 27, 2009
New Microsoft ad targets inexperienced, sticker-priced-obsessed PC buyers (with video) – March 26, 2009
Microsoft’s Mojave for real: Windows 7 unmasked; it’s just Vista underneath – November 11, 2008
Oh-so-rebellious Microsoft parks ‘I’m a PC’ port-a-potty, er, recording booth outside Apple Stores – October 31, 2008
Microsoft to spend record amounts to market Vista service pack, er, ‘Windows 7’ – October 28, 2008
Microsoft’s $300m ad campaign doomed? ‘I’m a PC, too’ says Apple’s OS-unlimited Mac (with video) – September 23, 2008
Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ ads created on Apple Macs – September 20, 2008
Microsoft airs its ‘I’m a PC’ ads (with video) – September 19, 2008
Microsoft admeisters Crispin Porter+Bogusky love their Apple Macs (UPDATE: Apple pulls profile) – September 18, 2008
Ad exec: Casting Microsoft as Apple’s ‘victim’ doesn’t work – September 18, 2008
Microsoft cans Seinfeld; to attempt to rehab Vista with ‘I’m a PC’ Hodgman lookalike – September 18, 2008
Ah, yes. The attempt by Microsoft to remain relevant compared with Mac. 🙂
When you really look at how they advertise. I think their real competition is the Android market.
Pathetic Add!
Two words in your sentence, and you still manage to spell one wrong.
To label it Boring and mundane would be a compliment.
Form Wikipedia on “Gorilla Arm”:
“Vertical touchscreens still dominate in applications such as ATMs and data kiosks in which the usage is too brief to be an ergonomic problem”.
I think that is why they use vertical touchscreens as in that HP: It is because “the usage is too brief to be an ergonomic problem”.
Shit happens, sometimes®
Oh, and also:
Stupid is as stupid does®
Waaaaa??? They wrecked her house and put a bunch of garbage inside. Why is she at all happy? Actually, watching it again, I’m not so sure she is!
Embarassing.
What do the rumored Apple-killer “Microsoft retail stores and the iPad-killer “Courier tablet” have in common?
Vaporware! You better believe it. ™ =;~B
Microsoft shouting it out from the rooftops:
YES, I’M A PC & I’M A TWAT!!!!
Touch screen and no tower….What will they think of next?
In England isn’t it? Bit unusual. Still crap and patronising though.
Yes it is.
We have simpletons over here too.
Wow! This is even stupider than the one they paid Jerry Seinfeld millions of dollars for.
NOTHING can match those Seinfeld/Gates ads. Truly cringe-worthy. This was just dumb.
Julie likes “touch”? Apparently, MS wants to emphasize that you can have that only with Windows, there simply are no other touch devices…
Julie, iPads actually do work without a tower.
Julie likes touch… lol! Not going there.
I wish I could have been there in the creative meeting for this one..
“Lets get someone from England…and we’ll lure her out of her house, then break in and do a “Trading Spaces” makeover of her living room only it will be a miniature ‘PC store’!!! and she can come home and then immediately go shopping in her HOUSE for PC’s because people LOVE showrooms AND makeovers! Talk about demonstrating VALUE and the fact that we GET IT… ”
This ad agency really needs to fire everyone associated with this spot. It’s SO FAR off the mark…it literally made me say WHAT? about ten times… HOW in HELL does this sell anything? Please Microsoft…STOP this stupidity…have some dignity.
Nicely said.
re “have some dignity”
Why would they start now!!!?
That was just … bizarre.
Who is this ad targeting?
What’s the message?
Why was the interior of her house ruined?
Is this some British cultural thing that we in the new world would never understand?
How have Windows PC sales fared in the targeted market, since the release of this ad?
Excuse me, while I now forget this ad.
Hey, look, a puppy! ….
A truly aspirational brand.
I almost aspirated!
Love the last line…
“I’m a PC, and I’m going to kill him.”
Says it all.
Right! “Yeah, I got a free touch screen thingy out of this deal, but I’m going to kill my boyfriend for letting these strangers wreck my house.”
The PC user experience. It is literally murder.
I’ll bet that her original comment was, “Wow, that looks a lot like an iMac, except much thicker and lots of plastic.”
There are just as many people in that ad hoc Microsoft store as the regular ones! lol
“After a long dry” heave
fixed it for ya
Hey MS, unless he is under some contractual agreement not to do so, you should bring out of retirement John Hodgman as “I’m a PC” and put some humor in it by having a cardboard cutout of Justin Long that Hodgman can pitch off to the side and Hodgman can boastfully declare, “FINALLY!”
Hey, it can’t be any worse then the pile of steamy ads MS puts out!
Except in real life, Hodgman is a Mac guy, and one smart fellow, so I’m thinking he is not available for that project. 🙂
If he can get the same payment for services that Seinfeld received, I think he would. Hell, I’m a big Mac guy, and I’d gladly lighten Ballmer’s wallet on a stupidly made commercial… Even if I had to share the screen with Bill Gates!!!
“because I believe there isn’t a computer out there better than the one I already have”……..ok stop right there, if the next line was ‘because i just bought a new iMac’… we could end this horrible campaign and move with our lives.
No tower any more… But same viruses, same spyware, same junk software, same “evaluation crap”, same bulkies PC, same support problem where HP blames Microsoft software and Microsoft blames HP hardware. Yes July, you are so lucky
You have got to be kidding me! Who came up with this idea? Who greenlighted this for production? Absolutely awful. This commercial’s concept is so bad on so many levels that further words escape me at how ridiculous this commercial is.
Woman: “Did you keep the boxes? I’d like to return them and get a couple iPad 2’s”
Well, isn’t that just loverly…
Is that how they sell PCs in the UK? One at a time, after building a shop in each home? Sounds a bit Tupperwarish. The only way to get them to leave is to buy something.
So, this is the new Microsoft retail strategy?
Build a MicroStore in everyone’s house..
I like this strategy, I like it a lot!!
That’s one way for Ballmer fulfill his desire to beat the number of Apple Stores out there…