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Carroll: Microsoft's New Campaign By John Carroll
The campaign features comedian Jerry Seinfeld...not that there's anything right with that, says our senior media analyst John Carroll. Audio for this story will be available on WBUR's web site later Tuesday. TEXT OF COMMENTARY: JOHN CARROLL: In high-tech terms, software giant Microsoft is getting its boot-up kicked by Apple. The Mac-maker has less than 10% of the personal computer market, but 100% of the buzz thanks to its knockout Mac vs. PC ad campaign. The series of television spots features two guys against a seamless white background, the hip-looking Mac in t-shirt and jeans standing alongside PC, a stocky fellow in a brown suit and a boy's regular haircut. [AD SCRIPT EXCERPT: MAC vs. PC (VIRUSES)] MAC: HELLO, I'M A MAC PC: AND I'M A PC. (ACHOO ACHOO ACHOO) MAC: GESUNDHEIT. YOU OK? PC: NO, I'M NOT OK. I HAVE THAT VIRUS THAT'S GOING AROUND. IN FACT, YOU BETTER STAY BACK ? THIS ONE'S A DOOZIE. MAC: THAT'S OK, I'LL BE FINE. PC: NO, NO, DO NOT BE A HERO. LAST YEAR THERE WERE 114,000 KNOWN VIRUSES FOR PCs. MAC: PCs, NOT MACS. CARROLL: PC turns out to be a plugger whose relentless optimism is touching, if entirely unfounded. That's especially true now that it has become easier for Microsoft Windows users to switch to a Mac. In a new TV spot, PC is dressed in a cape and crown while sitting on a throne. [AD EXCERPT, MAC vs. PC (THRONE)] MAC: WHAT'S THIS? PC: WELL, YOU KNOW, VISTA'S KIND OF A HASSLE, BUT SWITCHING IS AN EVEN BIGGER HASSLE. SO YOU MIGHT HAVE A BETTER OPERATING SYSTEM, BUT I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT LOSING ANY OF MY SUBJECTS TO YOU ? I'M STILL THE KING. MAC: WELL, ACTUALLY, ALL YOUR SUBJECTS HAVE TO DO IS BRING THEIR PC TO AN APPLE STORE AND WHEN THEY GET A MAC. MAC GENIUS WILL SWITCH THEIR FILES OVER FOR FREE. MAKES SWITCHING KIND OF EASY. PC: I BANISH YOU. YOU ARE BANISHED. CARROLL: Banishing Macintosh is exactly what Microsoft hopes to do with its new 300 million dollar advertising campaign featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld. In true Seinfeldian fashion, the kickoff ad is a commercial about nothing. Jerry sees Microsoft chairman Bill Gates buying shoes at a discount store, helps him choose the right size, then quizzes Gates as they walk through the parking lot. [AD EXCERPT: SEINFELD & GATES] JERRY SEINFELD TO BILL GATES, WITH BOTH SEEN FROM BEHIND: JUST WONDERING, ARE THEY EVER GOING TO COME OUT WITH SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE COMPUTERS MOIST AND CHEWY LIKE CAKE SO WE COULD JUST EAT THEM WHILE WE'RE WORKING? IF IT'S YES GIVE ME A SIGNAL. ADJUST YOUR SHORTS. [GATES ADJUSTS] OHHH. I KNEW IT! CARROLL: The ad, which never mentions Microsoft Vista, closes with type on the screen that says, "The future. Delicious." According to Microsoft executives, the ad is designed to get people talking, and they certainly have been, mostly panning the ad as pointless and bizarre. A Microsoft spokesman told the Wall Street Journal, "It's exactly what we were trying to achieve, which was to drive buzz." But comparing Microsoft's buzz with Macintosh's buzz is like, well, comparing Apples and PCs. John Carroll is a mass communication professor at Boston University and Senior Media Analyst for WBUR.
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