Finally, a good Microsoft ad

A couple of years ago someone was impersonating the Macalope on Twitter before giving up shortly after the horny one opened up his own account. The impostor’s last post was this:

Wow. New Microsoft ads are very good. I’m scratching my antlers trying to think of something negative to say.

First of all, you don’t scratch the antlers. Antlers don’t itch. Second, haha, it’s funny because the Macalope is just a Microsoft nay-sayer blah blah blah. Third, those ads — the “take back the ‘I’m a PC guy’!” ads — were truly horrible and the Macalope easily found something negative to say about them.

Fast forward to this year when the brown and furry one has been positive about Microsoft’s efforts with Windows Phone 7 and really likes the first ad.

It may not be perfect as John Gruber notes, but it’s a) a funny jab at how much time people spend on their phones and b) a suggestion that you can do what you want to do on a Windows Phone 7 faster and get back to your loved ones.

Is that true? Maybe. It’s certainly what they tried to do with the phone, we’ll see if they pulled it off. Seems like it’s going to be a little hard without multitasking and cut-and-paste at least.

Comments
  • Marc:

    WP7 will probably so unpleasant to use people won’t want to use their phones so much?

  • Bruce Hoult:

    I don’t think people are spending a lot of time on their iPhones because it’s slow to do stuff. They’re spending a lot of time because they’re doing a lot more on their phone than ever before.

    Is Microsoft going to ban twitter clients from their phones? I don’t think so. QED.

  • Alan:

    They have a Windows 7 ad in Canada where an exchange student is spending a year in Germany. He doesn’t get Germanic humor at all so he connects with his home computer in Canada and uploads some of his own YouTube like videos to show Canadian humor to his German friends.

    The movie he shows is one of himself doing pushups with his tongue. The toes of his shoes and his tongue are all that is touching the floor and he is pushing himself up and down 2 to 3 inches.

    The Fraulein next to him likes Canadian humor, she likes it a lot. Then he takes credit for Windows 7. The girl says Awesome! but it’s obvious she is still watching the video, not listening to what the guy is saying.

    ROFLMAO

  • What the heck does Microsoft know about “loved ones?” Are those the same people they wanted us to squirt with our Zunes?

    Also: I’ve learned something here today. A big difference between the Macalope and deer is that the Macalope doesn’t shed his antlers every year. If he did, I’d imagine the velvet would itch like crazy. Perhaps he needs them year-round “to attract and to impress females for his harem of mates.” (http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/antlers.asp)

  • They have a very negative tone and are unpleasant. They are just shouting “You idiots use youre phones too much, buy ours” at potential customers.

    In a word: dumb.

  • Sigivald:

    Seems like it’s going to be a little hard without multitasking and cut-and-paste at least.

    That there?

    That’s irony, isn’t it?

  • Gimpy:

    I learn something new every time I come here. I thought that antlers were itchy while in velvet–especially at that stage where you’ve been rubbing them against every tree in sight and there are ratty strips hanging from them… But, whatever people say about your knowledge of the dreaded deadly slide case, you are the undisputed expert on antlers.

  • Wayne:

    There’s a difference between an ad that’s engaging and an ad that works. It is true, however, that most ads that work are engaging. I think the Windows Phone 7 ads fall into the ‘engaging, but don’t work’ category. Here’s why. People, in general, love to watch other people do stupid things. It makes them feel superior, which is a good feeling. So to take typical smartphone behavior (which everyone with a smartphone has done) and push it to such extremes that it is laughable and easily criticized, is to tap into a common and predictable human emotion. What the ad doesn’t do is address how a WP7 phone will prevent this. Everyone with a smartphone knows that switching between apps is quick, it’s all the stuff that a smartphone can do that attracts your attention. I just don’t think these ads will translate into sales for the WP7 devices. Until MS comes up with something as simple as the Budweiser Frog ads (funny, repeats name, creates good feeling associated with product) or, even, the I’m a Mac ads (funny, creates perception of positive differentiation between competing products) they will have a difficult time competing with Android and iPhone.

  • Anton Soze:

    First of all the WP7 Home screen shows a bunch of notifications “badges” as tiles…the information itself isn’t there, just the update of the number pending to be reviewed. This is no different than the iPhone app badges so that entire premise is false. Now the WP7 hubs may have unique and useful way to view multiple sources of information within the hubs but the hype about the Home screen is odd.

    The interface is different so I give Microsoft credit for not being a full-out copy, like most others. WP7 will need to advertise its hooks into the Microsoft environment (Office, Xbox, etc.) to gain traction and it will probably gain some market share….most likely at the expense of RIM and Android.

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