Microsoft's New $300 Million Makeover

by: Julia Boorstin August 22, 2008 | about stocks: AAPL / MSFT    

Julia Boorstin

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You know those Apple (AAPL) commercials that skewer Microsoft (MSFT): "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC." They're helping Apple sell more computers, but they're not helping Microsoft any. Especially as Microsoft battles with negative publicity over its latest operating system, Windows Vista.

Now Microsoft is fighting back with its own message, investing $300 million in a new campaign for Windows, to remake its image as a consumer-friendly brand.

Who better to help Microsoft than one of the most loved comedians of the past few decades: Jerry Seinfeld.

Microsoft is paying him a reported $10 million to appear along with Bill Gates in a series of ads starting September 4. Microsoft isn't commenting on the ads, but from what sources are telling me, this campaign aims to reposition the Windows brand. The goal is expand Windows to mean more than just computer software, to include Microsoft's online and mobile products. This follows a couple of Microsoft's recent initiatives to reverse negative reactions to its latest "Windows Vista" software.

The bottom line: Microsoft is fighting back against Apple's ads and the competitive marketplace as a whole. In the second quarter, Apple reported that sales of its Mac computers grew 41 percent. Meanwhile, sales of the overall PC market grew 15 percent. So needless to say, Apple's easy systems and hip ads are working.

Critics say no celebrity is big enough to transform Microsoft's image, it needs to change its products. From what I'm hearing Microsoft is well aware of that, and this campaign will be one of many pushes to change not only Microsoft's image, but also the way that consumers interact with Microsoft products.

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This article has 7 comments:

  •  
    Aug 22 08:16 AM
    An open letter to Jerry Seinfeld.

    Dear Mr. Seinfeld,

    As one of your biggest fans (my daily vocabulary is littered with 'Seinfeldisms') it hurts me to see you align yourself with a marketing program for a convicted, predatory monopolist: Microsoft. I urge you to read the antitrust trial transcripts. There is a reason the judge overseeing the case compared Bill Gates and his cohorts to Columbian drug lords. Microsoft did everything it could to extort and strong-arm competitors to gain their unfair advantage in the market for their swiss-cheese, virus laden product: Windows.

    Windows software has lead to billions of dollars lost by consumers and businesses. Think about it. 140,000 viruses on the Windows platform; billions of dollars lost to fix the Y2K mess; the USS Yorktown sitting dead in the water due to Windows; ATM's being hacked....again due to Windows. The list goes on and on.

    Microsoft was convicted and the penalty was to be the dismantling of the company, instead, after donating huge sums of money to the George W Bush and John Ashcroft campaigns, they were allowed to draft their own 'punishment'. First time in history a convicted monopolist was allowed to do that.

    I can see why Microsoft wants to hire you. They think your good reputation will enhance theirs (just like Bill Gates thinks that, after making of billions of dollars illegally, he can just give a pittance away and call himself a philanthropist). But think of your reputation. YouTube videos will skewer these commercials unmercifully. You should be doing everything you can to switch users FROM Windows, not to it. Granted they are paying you 10 million dollars. That's a lot of cash, but your reputation is worth more than that.

    I heard once that Alan Alda, when he was young and struggling, turned down an offer to make a cigarette commercial. He figured that his being able to put food on the table wasn't worth him talking some child into getting cancer. Morals above money. Why would you want to talk someone into buying buggy software that will put their computer, and them, at risk of viruses, spyware, identity theft, etc.

    Here's an idea. Tell Gates and Co. to put their 300 million dollars earmarked for propaganda into hiring some decent programmers (maybe they could get a few from Apple!). Then everybody wins, Microsoft will make better software, the consumer will be happy, and you will have saved your reputation.

    Sincerely,

    A true fan

    If anyone knows how to get this message to Mr. Seinfeld, please feel free to forward it to him.
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  •  
    Aug 22 09:06 AM
    amen. apple doesn't need a star to do it's ads because its products are real stars. gates is giving away only the $ businesses and other consumers lost in buying virus protection programs and paying big IT department expenses.
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  •  
    Aug 22 09:46 AM
    A sad day for Seinfeld and a sad day for his fans.
    Reply | Link to Comment
  •  
    Aug 22 10:29 AM
    Eh.
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  •  
    Aug 22 04:21 PM
    MS has always spent tons on advertising, meaningless messages, like where do you want to go today, or Wow. Just wasted money.
    Reply | Link to Comment
  •  
    Aug 22 04:46 PM
    Bring back the Microsoft ad where they portray their users as dinosaurs.

    Too bad Microsoft has no idea how to actually use the $300M to improve thier products...
    Reply | Link to Comment
  •  
    Aug 23 11:06 AM
    The problem is Microsoft has no taste ... and I don't mean that in a small way.
    Reply | Link to Comment
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