It’s “My Idea”, as long as it’s American
Microsoft’s latest multi-million dollar global ad campaign pushing its new operating system, Windows 7, almost passed us by.
Well, not the campaign itself, but did anyone notice which agency did the bulk of the creative work around the world?
US-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky was the lead agency for the “My Idea” campaign. The strategy behind it was to get Microsoft consumers around the world to front the ads and be “the voice of the product” they helped create.
The presumption by many would be that while CP+B had come up with the core creative idea, local agencies would have then been brought in to oversee the local adaptation of the ads.
Not so, it would appear. It seems the US agency flew in their own elite team of creatives to all the markets around the world that needed to film ‘local’ Microsoft consumers to star in the localised TVCs. So in Oz, Microsoft’s incumbent agency Wunderman was relegated to handling outdoor and digital, while CP+B took care of the TV ads.
Couldn’t Microsoft’s local agencies handle the challenge? First San-Francisco based Goodby Silverstein & Partners moves in on The Commonwealth Bank, now this?
And finally, has anyone actually seen the Australian executions? Yes clearly, they needed CP+B’s magic touch.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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not one of crispins best ideas that’s for sure
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Mac People:
Does that make you want to switch to Windows?
> Probably not.
Windows people:
> Are you getting excited by this Ad?
> Probably not.
Can someone measure the failure/(or success..) of this Ad right now?
> probably not.
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Feels like their trying to be Mac and failing.
Probably would work better if they stuck to their sleek corporate guns and exerted a point of difference.
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Her favourite program is microsoft word…along with excel, powerpoint and outlook…
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Her favourite program is microsoft word…along with excel, powerpoint and outlook…
i guess a drag and drop taskbar would be enough to get her excited…
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I can sense the tides of indifference washing around the nation.
Mind you, if you have been using nothing but Windows, don’t own an iPhone and only ever speak to PC users, then you could well think the new features are neat.
But not too exciting.
And do we believe MS has turned out all cosy and user friendly after a couple of decades of history to the contrary. Still, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Lets see where they head with this one.
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Wow- this bit of PR backfired for them didnt it.
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That comment not for this story.
Too many tabs open. Actually, this site is broken, fix it.
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How come the make her look thinner and glammed up in the re-enactment?
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Art you need to focus on the importing and forget about exporting
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Having seen the US ads, I’d much rather they just put them on air here with no dubbing. This is pretty bad.
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Hi I’m a Mac and you SUCK.
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Imagine how bad it could have been if it were executed locally….it’s advertising and insights like this that is making me switch to Apple.
I suspect CP+B are secretly working for the other team.
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that sucks….
…all I thought of was the mac ad broken promises…
http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/
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@Steve
Yes indeed. She’s apparently more worthy when thinner and wearing more makeup in front of a fan. I get the joke, but as a ‘lady’ this creative treatment does not endear me to what is already a less than endearing brand.
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Every time I watch ads (in general) I keep wondering if the interesting people from adland actually think consumers are that stupid. Only rarely is this an annoying distraction from the rubbish they are trying to sell.
@ mac … and another favourite of hers is windows media player?! WTF?? Quick poll… does anyone actually use WMP for anything? ever?
The other painful thing is that the “drag ‘n’ drop” taskbar is as old as at least XP. Clearly Windows 7 is definitely worth every last penny.
Now just wait for MS and CP+B to claim coverage like this post as a “PR success”.
“The campaigns goal was to start a conversation and create ads that had the potential to reach a broader audience than the traditional channels they were created for…”
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I can understand why Microsoft would want to use the US agency. At the multinational I worked for I saw the local Australia agencies try to put their own stamp on several global campaigns in the name of localisation. It rarely produced better results.
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@ Steve – der – people are always thinner and prettier when they are younger. then they go to work in an office and get fat.
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A bar that shows which apps are open? Pure genius!
Instead of Miriam etc. why not call all the characters in the campaign Mac.
Then they could quite honestly say, “It was all Mac’s idea.”
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Umm not only does she get thinner and prettier – she’s a completely different person in the re-enactment…
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@Tom – you’ve nailed it mate.
It can’t be measured, so therefore success will be determined by how well the agency can tap dance when the dust settles.
But seriously, if they’ve selected the best attributes of the product to highlight in the TVC, and these features are a drag and drop task bar, then I doubt any ad will help sell this puppy!
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I think it’s a good ad.
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It is a rubbish campaign. But most of the comments above appear to be from Mac users who feel threatened. If only Macs lived up to thier ad campaigns then you wouldn’t feel that way.
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@bluetouchpaper
Well yes I use a Mac. They’re certainly not perfect and the ads do make them out to be easier than they are. But Microsoft keep copying what Mac does a few years later. It’s just unoriginal.
AND if you want to see a truly rubbish Microsoft ad (or whatever it is?) go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ
It’s so bad Microsoft switched off the comments and ratings thingy.
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To all the MS-haters:
Don’t forget MS bailed Mac out of a very deep hole in the early 80s by buying half their failing company. So, who “borrows” heavily from who?
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