Yes, that’s a digitally re-animated John Lennon promoting the OLPC Give One, Get One programme in the USA. Truly brilliant: the OLPC needs some strong publicity if G1G1 is going to take off.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Microsoft ad FAIL continues in earnest
I’m aware that I’ve been blogging far too much about Microsoft’s ad campaigns lately. But - hey - they’re so laughable they’re practically an endless source of material.
Firstly, here’s a video of the (surprisingly) rejected version of the first Seinfeld advert, with a slightly alternate ending.
Then we come to the new “I’m a PC” ads. These seem to be a bit better, but the “I’m a PC” bit at the beginning, which should be a dig at Apple, sounds far too defensive.
Also, somewhat amusingly, the new ads were authored not using Expression Media on Vista, but on Adobe Photoshop CS3: Macintosh Edition. (It’s true. I’ve checked the metadata.)
Overall, this ad campaign’s becoming a bit embarassing for MS. This is even discounting the fact the new slogan, Windows: Life without walls, makes no sense. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t a window need a wall to be installed and mounted in? Otherwise it is merely a pane of glass.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Microsoft’s New Ad Campaign
Yes, it appears the Borg have dumped Seinfeld. And the Beastmaster. A shame. I was rather warming to them. Well, no I wasn’t. I was warming to Bill Gates’s presence. Not Seinfeld’s.
Either way, they now have a new campaign, which is clearly a dig at Apple’s Get a Mac campaign. Put simply, a man who looks like PC Guy stands in front of the camera and says “I’m a PC, and I feel persecuted. Wah wah. Give me a cuddle, Mummy.” (OK, I made that last bit up.) Then we see other people saying they’re also a PC.
Not only this, MS actually wants you to help with its new ad campaign, allowing you to submit a short video explaining what sort of PC you are. Clever. I therefore propose this script.
Hello, I’m a PC. And yes, I am this slim, I’m not using TV trickery. Fat PC’s off sick. Again.
I feel persecuted. Not because of anti-Vista snobbery - in fact, I dislike Vista. It’s slow and puts too much of a strain on my resources. I mean, a 128mB+ of graphics memory for the compositor? Come on!
I feel persecuted because no-one makes drivers for Linux. That said, if I get the right drivers (which is, to be fair, pot luck) I’m way, way speedier than Vista. I also play nicely with Mac. We’re cousins.
Now naff off and blend your Vista DVD.
Fickle, no? I take cheque or cash, Monkey Boy…
Saturday, September 6, 2008
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
Just when you thought Microsoft’s advertising couldn’t get any worse after the appalling “Mojave Experiment” campaign… well… take a look for yourself.
Yes, that is Jerry Seinfeld showing Bill Gates how to buy shoes. And yes, that is Windows - being described as DELICIOUS!? What the hell were they thinking? Seinfeld finished years ago and isn’t really known outside of the USA, the poor Beastmaster looks befuddled and confused (uncannily like Terry Wogan) throughout the ad, and Windows is not even mentioned. The people who came up with this should be hunted down and shot, and then have their testicles turned into stressbusters for Steve Ballmer in case he hears the words Chrome or Macintosh.
That really is an appalling ad.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sneaky Grisoft advertising
Interestingly, this seems to be advertising AVG’s paid security solution, AVG Internet Security, conveniently omitting any mention of the new version of AVG Free.
