Microsoft is attempting to sell Nokia Windows Phones by blasting Apple iPhone users and Fragmandroid settlers in a new television ad slated for U.S. and Canadian network and cable broadcasts.
In the ad, a wedding is taking place when a fight breaks out between well-heeled Apple iPhone users on one side and poorly-dressed Fragmandroid settlers on the other.
“Aren’t you a little young to have an iPhone,” asks an unkempt Fragmandroid settler who’s at least as old as the woman to whom he poses his supposedly cutting question. He looks to be waiting for yet another stab at an antivirus app to download to his ugly, plastic iPhone wannabe, but we couldn’t be sure as we were far too distracted by the size of the knot in his circa 1973 necktie. You just know the guy is recording episodes of Hee Haw on his VHS machine back home as all of this goes down.
MacDailyNews Take: Mildly humorous in spots, yet largely ineffective.
Translation for any stray Fragmandroid settlers who might mosey on by: Ain’t gonna work, Micronokia. Y’all’s time done passed.
[Attribution: AllThingsD. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
iOS dominates Android: 75 cents of every dollar spent on mobile advertising is spent on Apple iOS devices – April 19, 2013
Android owners aren’t real smartphone owners – March 12, 2013
iPhone users watch twice as much online video as those with Android phones – March 12, 2013
Where are the Android users? – March 11, 2013
With 78% share, Apple’s iOS tightening its grip on the enterprise and taking share from Android – March 8, 2013
Apple rules the skies with 84% in-flight share vs. Android’s 16% – March 7, 2013
Apple iPad continues domination with over 80% usage share in U.S. and Canada – March 7, 2013
comScore: Google’s Android, Samsung continue to lose U.S. share to Apple’s iOS, iPhone – March 6, 2013
Apple iOS dominates mobile video viewing with 60% share vs. Android’s 32% – February 13, 2013
Android’s Web share down 13% since November; Apple’s iOS now over 60% – February 1, 2013
Android’s unit share growth has not hurt Apple’s profit share – February 26, 2013
Apple iOS dominates mobile video viewing with 60% share vs. Android’s 32% – February 13, 2013
Android’s Web share down 13% since November; Apple’s iOS now over 60% – February 1, 2013
IDC: Apple dominates worldwide tablet market with 43.6% unit share – January 31, 2013
The Android engagement paradox – November 26, 2012
People buy more Android phone units and do less with them vs. Apple’s revolutionary iPhone – November 14, 2012
Study: iPhone users vastly outspent Android users on apps, respond much better to ads – August 20, 2012
Saw this before I left this morning, was pretty good made me chuckle a bit even though they didn’t show any benefits for windows phone
I’m with you. It’s very funny but it doesn’t promote the phone. At least it’s not as bad as the Surface Pro tv commercial. That has to take the trophy as the worst commercial ever. Or at least the most bizarre commercial ever. I can’t believe that even Microsoft allowed that to be shown. Well, maybe Balmer gave the okey-dokey for that. Never mind.
The Surface Pro commercial is the most annoying tech ad of all time.
I agree completely. I mute the commercial until it is over. I don’t understand what it is selling. Is it a commercial for synchronized gymnastics or what? Does not work on so many levels. So Sad! NOT!
“Do you think if they knew about the Nokia they’d stop fighting?”
answer: -hell no – it runs Windows
– yeah its an alright commercial – with a lame question not a strong position to promote the phone.
– Also – Nokia is the phone of the year???
I doubt that?
Two hundred guests , 2 with windows phones, sounds about right.
Yeah, and “the help,” no less.
I was just at a tech conference with about that ratio. 90% iPhone, a few Androids, one Nokia. And that guy works for Nokia, though he was proud to tell me he sold his iPhone and bought the Lumia with his own money.
Wait… he works for Nokia but had to buy the phone with his own money?
Two hundres guesta with zero guests with the windoze smart phones. Two employees of the hotel had the windoze phones.
Subliminally burned into the viewer’s brain as the last lasting visual is ……: ta crisp indelible image of the Apple logo tatooed into the guy’s chest!
Thanks microsoft.
Yeah. That was pretty shabby, definitely weird, and seems like a bad move coming from a competitor.
Could they not have gone with a more subtly placed Apple-logo tramp-stamp on one of the bridesmaids??
Msft does nothing right
The commercial would have been must more popular if the tattoo had been on a bridesmaid’s chest. Just sayin’…
Would have thought that both of you would have enjoyed it Breezy. You know, you and your other you.
I don’t know General Motors but we know both of you. Which one of you is speaking?
GM your dqys of FUDrucking, shortselling and trolling are over. You’ve been rejected, deflected and ingected by most here…
Don’t know General Motors. But we all now know both of you. You’re a phony and very disingenuous. Also, what is ingected?
Loved it! Super Appleman ™!
Nice Apple logo placement.
The Apple lawyers should sue Microsoft, Nokia and/or other responsible parties for using the Apple Registered Logo (tattoo on guy’s chest) without permission and without full legal acknowledgment of the protected trademark.
Nope, who cares. This attempt at comedy underscores how loyal and committed phone users are and how far out of the game Microsoft is.
Okay, the guy is committed to Apple and it likely speaks well in some way for Apple. However, notwithstanding any possible benefit to Apple, these people are using Apple’s protected trademark – with a staged actor – in a commercial manner – in a purposeful way to convey negatively to Apple – all without acknowledgment that they are using Apple’s registered trademark. Take these blithering idiots to court. Cease and desist them, and make they pay.
I agree except Apple has received enough bad publicity regarding patents. It is not worth the “bad Apple” BS to make that point over a piss poor ad.
Take Microsoft to court and you just end up giving Nokia’s Windows phones more publicity.
Let the bizarre Ad run it’s course and disappear after it’s 15 minutes of infamy.
How do you no Apple’s PR DIDN”T give permission already for that part of the commercial? Apple Placement indeed!
Argh! “know”
no, Dale, i think they should hire the actor to deliver some decent Apple ads with Hodgman.
Windows Phone ads are always so violent. Remember their previous ad campaign that showed people getting hurt because they were so engrossed in their smartphone screens they were ignoring the world around them? (The message being, I guess, that you won’t want to look at your Windows Phone screen.)
You don’t.
Hilarious
Ugly. Offensive. Not funny. Old. Sad.…
Microsoft
Sorry, but that was pretty funny, you have to admit. I would far rather some of those Android users switch to Windows Phone.
I don’t think they ended up selling it well at the end, but overall it was pretty good.
“Could you please move your enormous phone?” Loved that.
THAT part will be the “Trump” commercial against the “larger screen” iPhone request. Subliminal.
Lol
I liked that line, too… except that Microsoft’s phones are similarly enormous! So Microsoft is inadvertently mocking themselves? Sounds about right.
They’re not as big as that Samsung thing though. That thing is huge. That’s what she said…. (I’m here all week…)
That was a pretty funny commercial though!
This should go over well with the Fandroid Crowd.
<iframe width="480" height="270" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight='0' scrolling="no" src="http://hub.video.msn.com/embed/c9d2be13-5da4-4a28-91f9-6afee5d856b4/?vars=bGlua2JhY2s9aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5iaW5nLmNvbSUyRnZpZGVvcyZmcj1zaGFyZWVtYmVkLXN5bmRpY2F0aW9uJnN5bm
Oops
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/don-t-get-scroogled-by-the-google-app-store/1vqu21ctn?from=sharepermalink&src=v5%253ashare%253asharepermalink%253a
Don’t use Screwgle for anything. Bing. Still laughing.
Agreed! Pretty funny actually. Kind of captures something that’s out there.
Say what you will, this is one VERY funny ad (but you couldn’t pry my iPhone away from me even if I were dead). Still, funny ad.
Just another Ballmer lead Microsoft executive meeting… how innovative did it take to make THAT ad?!
great ad.
Reminds me of the sublime mix of comedy and violence (and sexism) in North to Alaska starring the great John Wayne—the famous all-out town brawl frames the trailer:
Hilarious. Well done!
But … will it sell more Windows Phones? Or does it say “buy a phone you won’t love?”
Great idea. Insult your prospective customers. That’s a sure way to attract them to your brand.
It’s working for Samsung… But they are not getting uptake from iPhone users, they are getting uptake from free-phone-wanters, and people who wish they had an iPhone. And the ads Samsung has done makes these outsiders feel like they are a part of something.
In this ad, Microsoft is clearly poking fun at everyone, and wishing they were a part of it. It comes across well. And in the whole scheme of things, parts of what goes on here and elsewhere are funny, and sometimes a little over the top.
I have no doubt that this technique will pique interest in the platform a bit.
Way more effective than the Surface ads.
Do you remember the “Dinosaur” ads MS used to have? The MS customers were dinosaurs because they used older MS products. To me that indicated the existing customers were dinosaurs and is why many of the MCSEs called them “Losers” instead of “Users”.
http://donnedwards.openaccess.co.za/2006/03/microsoft-dinosaur.html
Totally forgot about those, though in that case they actually were insulting their own customers, while here they’re mocking all of us…
The days when they good do anything. I’m sure they would sigh if they could…
The video sound clip ends with “Reader’s Choice SmartPhone of the year.”
Which “reader’s choice” would that be?
i’m an iphone user and fan and i like the ad…its a good one
Would have worked well as an SNL skit. Not so much as a marketing tool.
If I don’t own a smartphone and don’t have a dog in the Apple vs. Android fight, I might be left with this question: Wow, what product is so great someone would tattoo the log on their chest or fight to defend?
And why are there only two people out of 200 using the product that is being featured.
It was like saying, “No one cares about our product, so buy it.”
Sorry guys, this TV ad made me laugh out loud. Get me a transcript!
We humans can be so tribal sometimes, can’t we? 😉
So true. It’s a funny laugh, and made me laugh at all of us. That’s a good thing.
And yet, I found the guy ripping open his shirt revealing a giant Apple logo tattoo to be offensive. I’d never want to know that loon. That’s the kind of brain dead clone, koolaid drinking brand loyalty that makes me gag. Off target insult. Look to Microsoft fanatics for THAT level of stupid.
Example, Steven Smith, AKA ‘Zune Tattoo Guy’:
Since the demise of the Zune POS, Smith has purchased a 16 GB iPod Touch. Thankfully, he has not tattooed an Apple logo on himself.
MS is laughing at what? Apple’s huge profits and sales that make there’s look like chicken feed. Real features instead of tile slide shows that make everyone confused. Wanna be everything OS that can’t do anything good. Not to mention takes half of the space just for the OS. You laugh as Apple keeps going and MS keeps losing market share. I’ll be laughing right back at you when IOS 7 cleans your clock.
Would give Windows Phone a try ONLY if they get rid of that stupid GUI !!!
Not sure what the Wndows phone people are doing there. It looks like they should be waiting tables but that comes after the wedding not during
Marketing 101: …Never mention your competitors by names… Although this ad is pretty funny, I doubt this will drive users away from competing brands to Nokia.