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Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

zdnet.com

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Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#31

Post by sk5t »

toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

You've forgotten the crown jewel: the video for Vista SP1, "Rockin' Our Sales."[1]

I realize it was meant for internal use only, but good lord, somebody put a lot of work into this thing. It makes me so uncomfortable to watch, and to imagine the culture that might well have embraced this.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPv8PPl7ANU

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#32

Post by evv »

toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

One of my favorite Microsoft ads is Ballmer selling windows 1.0:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk

I'll let you be the judge on 'hipness' here.

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#33

Post by jentulman »

I think this speaks towards a lack of confidence in the winphone product, at least on the part of the marketeers behind this campaign.

To go on the attack as part of your campaign says that you're feeling defensive and negative about your own position and that you've run out of positives to trumpet.

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#34

Post by trimbo »

toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

The Seinfeld ad is easy to explain: never hire Crispin, Porter and Bogusky to do your ads. I wish I could find the article right now to substantiate this, but IIRC they have been known make it contractual that you will accept their creative without any input. What could possibly go wrong? Ask Groupon.

Whatever the contractual situation, CPB is a train wreck for companies looking to be hip, and they've profited substantially from their image of being the hippest game in town. Ad associations keep giving them awards year after year.

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#35

Post by trimbo »

w1ntermute wrote: post #26
toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

And the funny thing is that they ended up looking like tools even when they used (use?) CP + B, the same ad agency as Apple (and a very good one at that). But as anyone who has watched Mad Men knows, the clients can completely screw up a marketing campaign with their ridiculous demands. The problem with trying to look hip is that if you have to try in the first place, you're just not hip. This is a problem that seems…

> CP + B, the same ad agency as Apple

Uhm, no it's not. Apple has used Chiat/Day since the 80s.

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#36

Post by iamben »

toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

Surely the best Microsoft ad ever has to be the Songsmith one? It's just so, so awful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oGFogwcx-E&feature=yout...

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#37

Post by wvenable »

toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

The "Start me up" campaign from Microsoft with the launch of Windows 95 was both really good and hip for the time. That is, however, the only example of good marketing from Microsoft that I can remember.

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#38

Post by sharkweek »

w1ntermute wrote: post #26
toyg wrote: post #14

I think somebody should study how MS marketing works, make it a case-study. Every time they try to be "hip", they end up looking like fools. Remember that weird Seinfeld ad? The spooky over-polished family for Windows 7? The competition on "speed-of-opening-apps" on WP7 where nobody was allowed to win? When they stick to the basics, they usually manage to be half-decent, like for the Windows 8 campaign: safe, complet…

And the funny thing is that they ended up looking like tools even when they used (use?) CP + B, the same ad agency as Apple (and a very good one at that). But as anyone who has watched Mad Men knows, the clients can completely screw up a marketing campaign with their ridiculous demands. The problem with trying to look hip is that if you have to try in the first place, you're just not hip. This is a problem that seems…

A day in the life of an ad agency:

- Get hired by huge company

- Have dozens of creative ideas, present them each to the client

- Get rejected on all fronts

- Have dozens of watered-down ideas, present them each to the client

- They approve one of the ideas, but request X, Y and Z all be changed (most likely watered down)

- Create the idea, send over for approval - Hear nothing back

- Email contact dozens of times hoping for feedback

- Finally hear back with contact saying it's going up the chain of command for approval(most likely lost in the email black hole)

- Someone you've never heard of from the higher ups emails you and asks for a bunch of changes

- Make changes (once again, watering the concept down)

- Realize the ad has nothing unique or creative in it, send it back to client; they love it.

- Cry at desk

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#39

Post by [deleted] »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #15

So a handful of contrary tweets now count as backlash? Oh please. This is the problem when any journalist tries to use twitter to provide an angle to a story: you can always cherry pick enough tweets to justify whatever narrative you wish to push. Without hard numbers this article is completely meaningless.

[deleted]

Re: Microsoft's DroidRage Twitter campaign goes painfully wrong

#40

Post by Posibyte »

madoublet wrote: post #7

I couldn't read past the Steven J byline. That guy has lost all credibility, in my opinion.

I know this comment doesn't particularly reflect the quality of the article, but it does have some meat to it. Steven J Vaughan-Nichols has a deep history of entirely one-sided, poorly written articles that bash Microsoft and boast Linux beyond all reasonable means. He likes to cherry-pick results many times to support his reasoning.

Since I believe the author alone affects the quality of the article, I can fully see where seeing his name automatically causes the quality to dwindle.

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