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Microsoft Pulls Out of Family Guy Deal

Paul Lilly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:30:32 -0500

What the deuce? Microsoft, who earlier this month seemed stoked to sponsor Fox's upcoming "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" has now decided to pull out of the deal. Under the original agreement, the variety show was to integrate Windows 7 into its routine, including shorts featuring the cartoon cast of Family Guy. But after viewing a taping of the comedy show, Microsoft got cold feet and walked away citing content concerns.

"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand," said a Microsoft spokeswoman. "We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane, and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas."

According to Variety.com, jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene, and incest turned out to be too much for Microsoft. The skittish software giant did at first send out several notes expressing concern over the show's content, but in the end decided it was better to just part ways.

The show, however, has not been canceled but it's unclear who will step in to take Microsoft's place.

Yahoo's $100 Million Ad Campaign Includes a Front Page Ad in Times of India

Paul Lilly — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:08:07 -0500

As part of its mega-million ad campaign, Yahoo has tapped into India's largest English-language newspaper, The Times of India, with a giant yellow ad on the front page pushing the company's 'It's Y!ou' slogan.

Citing circulation statistics from 2008, TechCrunch says the newspaper reaches 3.14 million readers, which is more than any other English-language newspaper on the planet. But whether or not a full-page spread spread makes sense is questionable, as Yahoo's presence in India is already pretty strong, reaching 26 million of the 35 million online users, according to data from comScore.

Yahoo plans to spend $100 million or more on its new marketing campaign, which will also include TV ads on AMC, ESPN, USA, Comedy Central, Bravo, and a bunch of other broadcast networks in the U.S.

Last Minute Windows 7 Concept Ads Shot with 5D Mark II

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:56:18 -0500

To the surprise of few, Microsoft is gearing up to dominate the airwaves with Windows 7 ads in preparation for their October 22nd launch. And, while there hasn’t been a lot of time to shoot the concepts for said adverts, the bar has been set quite high.

The ads, which show off 7’s personalization, aero shake and the life of a carefree teenager, were all shot during a strict 3-day deadline using a Canon 5D Mark II. All things considered, these commercials are pretty impressive.

No word as to when Microsoft will start running the new spots.

Image Credit: Microsoft

Google guns for Microsoft Office in New Ad Campaign

Paul Lilly — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:19:24 -0500

Google is launching an all-out offensive against Microsoft and its Microsoft Office software suite with a new ad campaign called "Going Google." In addition to being spattered all over the web, the new ads will also appear on billboards on four major U.S. highways that will give a new message about Google Apps everyday for a month. Said highways include the 101 in San Francisco, the West Side Hwy in New York, the Ike in Chicago, and Mass Pike in Boston.

The strategically placed ads, which will target IT managers stuck in traffic jams, will focus on how and why some 3,000 organizations are signing up to use Google Apps each day. According to Google, more than 1.75 million businesses, schools, and organizations have joined to use the various combinations of Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and other Google Apps.

Google's new ad campaign represents the latest in an ongoing war between the search giant and Microsoft. Google recently announced the development of its Chrome OS, while Microsoft recently announced a deal to take over Yahoo's search business.

Image Credit: TechCrunch

Microsoft Gets Rid of Vomit Ad; Stomachs Everywhere are Relieved

Paul Lilly — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:48:55 -0500

Microsoft apparently has had second thoughts about associating vomit with Internet Explorer 8. As part of a new ad campaign designed to push IE8 onto the masses, one of the four new ads showed a woman barfing all over her husband and the floor after borrowing her hubby's laptop and seeing whatever site he had been viewing, a site so horrendous as to cause her to lose her entire breakfast, and then some. Maybe he was watching Failure to Launch.

The video, which garnered a ton of online media attention, has since been pulled from the IE8videos channel on YouTube, as well as from BrowsefortheBetter.com, a site that is part of the ad campaign. In its place is a tag that simply reads "coming soon."

"We make a point of listening to our customers," a Microsoft representative told CNet. "We created the OMGIGP video as a tongue-in-cheek look at the InPrivate Browsing features of Internet Explorer 8, using the same irreverent humor that our customers told us they liked about other components of the Internet Explorer 8 marketing campaing. While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it."

Or maybe it just hit too close to home for some. Either way, if you missed it the first time around, you can still catch ad here.

Microsoft Targets Apple, the Response? “A PC is no Bargain!”

Justin Kerr — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:13:50 -0500

We’ve all seen the laptop hunters in action over the past several weeks and though you may not have noticed it at first, these ads represent a significant shift in tactics. The new marketing campaign by Microsoft takes a much less passive aggressive stance than in the past, and for the first time, charges head on into their primary competitor. In the previous campaign which featured a diverse group of actors claiming to be PC’s, Apple is never specifically mentioned, but clearly if you’re not a Mac you’re a PC right?

Microsoft’s strategy up to this point has been to ignore Apple completely, and to never give them the satisfaction of being acknowledged publically as a valid alternative to Windows. This new campaign is much less subtle about the value of a PC when compared to a Mac, and it is not surprising that they have invoked a response from Apple as a result.

According to an Apple spokesman “The one thing that both Apple and Microsoft can agree on is that everyone thinks the Mac is cool. With its great designs and advanced software, nothing matches it at any price." So close, yet so far”. Certain publications such as BusinessWeek would also have us believe that Anti Virus software and Geek Squad visits will make up the price difference between a $699 HP & a $2,800 Mac, but we don’t buy that argument either. One thing is certain however; we can likely expect Apple’s next ad campaign to respond in kind, making this the start of a very interesting and public war between the two rivals.

What do you think of Apple’s comments?

(Image Credit: Flickr)

Microsoft is Keeping on the Offensive with another "Laptop Hunters" Commercial

Paul Lilly — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:03:21 -0500

No one has been more critical of Microsoft's first attempts at responding to Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads than myself, and I still contend that those quirky commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld missed the mark wider than Brett Favre in a critical game (you Jets fans still steaming over a 3-interception, 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins know what I'm talking about). Judging by the comments in those earlier blogs (see here and here), either expectations were disparingly low, or other PC users really did find a certain charm in talking about chewy computers or watching Bill Gates do a geriatric robot.

This time around I'm more than willing to give credit where credit is due, and it belongs to Microsoft for its latest offensive against Apple. Microsoft has finally zeroed in on the high price tags that accompany Macs, and it isn't letting up. The first ad featured a woman named Lauren on the hunt for a 17-inch laptop under $1,000, and not surprisingly, she wasn't able to find one in an Apple store. "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she concluded. Not long after, a second ad emerged, this time upping the ante to $1,500 and featuring a member of the opposite sex who surmised that "Macs, to me, are about the aesthetics more than they are the computing power. I don't want to pay for the rent, I want to pay for the computer."

Now for the third time in only three weeks, Microsoft has released yet another "Laptop Hunters" commercial, this time with the camera crew following a mother-and-son duo looking for a sub $1,500 gaming notebook with a large hard drive. Talk about being at a disadvantage from the outset, and predictably, neither one finds what they're looking for in the Mac section of a local Best Buy.

"Whoa, these are way more money, dude!," the mother exclaims as the two check out a MacBook, while the son is quick to add "It's a little too small. Maybe we'd rather go with PC."

You can guess how it ends, or view it for yourself here.

Anyone else like what Microsoft's doing with its latest ad campaign?

Microsoft Launches Second Volley in Its Laptop Hunters Campaign

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:55:12 -0500

Redmond's ad writers drew blood with their first Laptop Hunters ad: "Congrats, Lauren. It's a PC," last month. They've wasted little time in following it up. This time, it's the guys' turn, and a little higher budget's in the offing: Giampaolo goes shopping for a powerful laptop under $1500. We watch him check out the stats, the keyboards, and hear him dismiss the Mac platform: "Macs, to me, are more about the esthetics, not the computing power." In the end, Giampaolo snags a Windows Vista-based laptop for about $1100. The tag line this time? "It's a PC because I'm really picky."

You can check out (Silverlight required) the continuing Laptop Hunters series at Microsoft's TV commercials website (including last year's painful "Mojave Experiment" and unbearable Gates & Seinfeld misfires). We like the Laptop Hunters commercials, but how about you? If you're on the Mac versus PC fence, do they push you off the fence? If you have Mac-loving friends or family members, what do they think? Hit Comment and tell us what's up.