Microsoft Update: There is an old saying that goes: "A picture tells a thousand
words". With Microsoft having the lost the plot on advertising their products in
the past, one can only wonder whether the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 7
Windows Phone 7 Series advertisement will do the trick.
Microsoft’s previous attempt at ads were actually quite a failure; strange thing
is, Vista was actually also quite a big failure wasn’t it? Hmmm
The new Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 Windows Phone 7 Series ad suggests (at this
point) that Microsoft will be playing it safe during the entire campaign for
Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 Windows Phone 7 Series advertisements.
The ad for Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 Windows Phone 7 Series highlights several
of the Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 Operating System’s key features, such as
Facebook integration and its "hubs" aggregating mobile apps and Web content, but
doesn’t try anything too funky – although the character named Anna seems a bit
too overjoyed to be getting a message from the babysitter at the very end.
The ad may be playing it safe, but I don’t remember Microsoft saying anything
about the hardware requirements including a funky Star Trek-style hologram
projector – I wonder why not?
I think this is actually a good direction for Microsoft to take. Whenever their
advertising tries to be hip, it inevitably implodes. See the Vista ads with Bill
Gates and Jerry Seinfeld for an idea of what I mean:
But when Microsoft sticks to the strict middle of the road, as it did with the
"Laptop Hunters" ad campaign and its focus on price, or the "Windows 7 Was My
Idea" spots and their focus on random passersby with delusions of grandeur, then
the reaction seems to generally be more positive and longer-lasting. I expect,
based on this first ad, that subsequent spots will try to show how Windows Phone
7 Series impacts the daily lives of "real people."