https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g8ZR0KY7M4
Microsoft’s latest Surface ad takes a direct shot at the Apple iPad. The holiday commercial, is a remix of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”, promoting the Surface Go.
“Grandma, don’t run out and buy an iPad. It was fine when I was six, but now I’m 10. My dreams are a big so I need a real computer.” The ad is funny-ish, and it just gets the point across really well. It particularly boasts the Surface Go’s $399 price tag, when in reality you will just be struggling with a low-powered computer if you get the entry-level Surface Go.
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What’s quite interesting to see is Microsoft comparing the Surface Go here instead of the Surface Pro with Apple’s iPads. The company is obviously taking shots at Apple’s “what’s a computer?” campaign for the iPad Pro, after all.
Do keep in mind that this is not Microsoft’s main holiday ad, and the company has a different campaign focusing on inclusivity for the holidays (via The Verge):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v70Fu2WU8-w
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#377694">In reply to solomonrex:</a></em></blockquote><p>This! I have 3 kids, two seniors and one freshman. It is all about the PC gaming for them. All of them have high school provided Windows 10 laptops as well. 6 Windows computers between the 3 of them.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#377664">In reply to ghostrider:</a></em></blockquote><p>My teenage kids use their laptops daily along with their smartphones. They don't play PC games, don't spend most of the time doing homework on them, and they have no interest in how computers work.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#377667">In reply to PeteMiles:</a></em></blockquote><p>and yet the gaming PC market, dominated by Windows is largely a kid/young adult crowd. </p><p><br></p><p>I will say this my kids were OH so happy to get rid of their Chromebooks when they left middle school to get Windows 10 laptops in high school.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#378433">In reply to Greg Green:</a></em></blockquote><p>Are we talking about the combined revenue of all games, or their median revenue? I imagine there may be thousands of mobile games that have made less than $100 in revenue, but they would still count in the total. </p>
provision l-3
<p>Microsoft is a really big fan of this comparative advertising despite it being known to not really work. </p><p><br></p><p>The basic premise is that whatever widget you are comparing yourself to is perceived as the best product in class and you are making a pitch as to why you widget is better. The problem being that you are promoting the other widget by default. At the end of the day it is as much advertising for the iPad as it is for the Surface Go. </p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#377790">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes, they reinforced that Windows as the product to beat and to best of my knowledge they didn't move the needle on Mac sales at all. In fact the unintended consequence was that John Hodgeman's PC was identified as the more like able character. Crappy ads. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#377906">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>It's crappy advertising. I know it pains you to find out Golden Calf made a bad choice with this one. </p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#377946">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>You either didn't read my original comment prior to posting to it or you didn't understand it. Given that you initial knee-jerk response was to take it as a pro Apple comment rather than a critique of they style of advertising in general I'm going to assume you didn't really read it and just went straight to reliving the platform wars of the 90s that you seem still want to fight. </p><p><br></p><p>Anyway, your responses at this point aren't even relevant to what I initially said which makes taking the time to respond you a bit of waste. Perhaps you can find and Apple fan to go pick a fight with, that is what you seem to really want anyway. </p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><a href="#378009"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>Right, your initial response just happened to be about Apple rather than advertising. Okay, maybe it had nothing to do with your obsessions with bygone platform wars and you really were making a completely irrelevant comment. </p><p><br></p><p>Anyway, this: "The rule of not mentioning a competitor because it gives them free name recognition"</p><p><br></p><p>Name recognition wasn't what I was talking about and you appear to have missed the point I was making entirely. </p><p><br></p><p>I can make this simple though. We disagree about Microsoft's ad. You think it is just ducky and I disagree. Disagreement isn't a big deal. The fact that you can't seem to abide by me having a contrary opinion to you about Microsoft makes you look like a bigger fanboy for the company that you normally do. I humbly suggest you not invest your ego in a company, your life will be better for it. </p><p><br></p>
dontbe evil
<p>it's funny how this website censor a simple comment of mine like "love it"</p>
skane2600
<p>It's a good ad except for the fact that the entry-level Surface Go in it's initial configuration is really no more a computer than the iPad and a bit less than an iPad Pro. If you buy the type cover it's similar to an iPad Pro, then if the user discovers the ability to upgrade to full Windows then it becomes a "real computer" relative to an iPad or iPad Pro. </p><p><br></p><p>Of course the iPad is a real computer but in this context, a "real computer" means being able to run all the programs one can run on a PC with Windows.</p><p><br></p><p>Apple could make a similar commercial were the grandma is asked to buy a Mac (i.e. a real computer) instead of an iPad with equal validity. Obviously it wouldn't make any business sense for Apple to make such a commercial.</p>