Gates to Success?

Today's guest blog comes from Clare Abdalla, Peppercom

Is all news good news? Seems like the folks at Microsoft think so.

Monday’s WSJ article demonstrates that bad news about a bad ad can still create buzz, as the Bill Gates/Seinfeld Windows commercial hit the streets. Blogs, the business community and mass media picked up the pointless ad which showed Gates and Seinfeld shoe shopping. Microsoft and Windows weren’t even mentioned.

Which makes one wonder: Is the lack of substance in the message a tactic? 

How is it to draw in customers?

Microsoft is already a household name with a hurting reputation. Every consumer has an opinion, and Mac commercials aren’t helping - they point out the disadvantages of owning Windows machines.

So how will shoe shopping re-establish the business superiority of Windows? Am I supposed to be assuming that the process of buying a computer is similar to buying shoes? Too many degrees of freedom that Microsoft needs to explain, fast.

Microsoft swears that this was an icebreaker commercial and more are to come. Maybe they’ll bring some meat to the table, but with Seinfeld as the star, seems like they’re relying on cash instead of creativity.

Giants like Microsoft are too big to fail, but they suffer from their own success; and that need not be a bad thing. Microsoft dominates in terms of market share, and that results in high levels of compatibility, economies of scale and scope, and the luxury of being very close to a monopoly. But capitalizing on the history of success is a challenge oversized organizations face. Marketing pink iMacs is catchy, but translating economies of scale into jingles has never been easy.

So maybe the Seinfeld commercial is an attempt to keep Microsoft in the media, even though its products cannot do so alone.

Comments

[Sam Ford]

Clare, thanks for sharing your take on the new Microsoft ad. I read a post yesterday defending the spot from an academic and consultant I've worked with for several years and respect, Grant McCracken.

He writes, "Microsoft has dug itself a very deep hole. It is seen to be smug, arrogant, monopolistic, and indifferent to consumer wishes. What was left of the brand after this misbehavior was pretty much finished off by those brilliant Mac vs. PC ads by TBWA\Media Arts Lab. So, hey, Microsoft had to do something. What they did was call Crispin. I haven't been persuaded by all the work of CPB. Some of the Burger King work seemed to suffer a Steve-O fascination with stunt marketing. But this spot is interesting."

See the full post at http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/2008/09/seinfeld-gates.html. Just wanted to see what you thought about his defense of the spot.