I’m a PC Tries For Viral: Station Conversation

One of the biggest stories of September was the rise and abrupt fall of the Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates Microsoft campaign — while the controversial spots garnered big media attention, the mixed response led the software giant to abandon the concept, replacing it with a star-studded I’m a PC commercial series. Bad decision or genius recovery? Paul Cibis and Liz Shannon Miller discuss in today’s Station Conversation.

Liz: I guess I should start this off by saying congratulations, Paul. You won. You and the rest of the blogosphere. You said, “The Seinfeld Microsoft ads are stupid,” and Microsoft pulled them. Tell me, what’s it like to have beaten the world’s largest and most powerful computer company?

Paul: To have them bend to my every capricious whim like jesters dancing for a bloated, insane Roman emperor?

Liz: Yes.

Paul: It feels good. How much did they spend on those ads?

Liz: The contract with Seinfeld was $10 million.

Paul: Yeah, I made them flush all that money down a very large toilet. That’s power. Plus, I actually really like the I’m a PC ads.

Liz: The new ones, really? They’re nothing I haven’t seen before. There’s nothing new there.

Paul: I think they’re a very smart retort to Apple’s ads, which are cute at best and grating at worst.

Liz: Great, a retort to the Apple ads. When did those first premiere? 2006! Hey, Microsoft, you’ll want to skip that Basic Instinct sequel that’s coming out. You might not have heard about it, but it’s pretty bad. Also, you should consider cashing out any investments in sub-prime mortgages. Just some helpful tips from us here in 2008. Seriously, these ads have had a longer life than Sarah Palin’s gubernatorial record!

Paul: Yeah, it’s coming a little late, but I think it’s a smart, pointed counterattack. If it’s slow in the coming I think it’s because Microsoft has never had to directly respond to Apple in a PR setting like this. Microsoft is a big ship. It takes time to turn that around. And the I’m a PC ads do what the Seinfeld ads where supposed to — take a stand and say, “Hey, there are cool, smart, creative people using these machines.”

Liz: Does Vera Wang use her PC to design her jeans, though? Does Eva Longoria use her PC to do her acting? I agree with you in concept, but all I take away from these spots is that a lot of people own PCs — not that they actually use them for anything interesting. The Get a Mac ads were all really feature-focused — Justin Long speaking fluent Japanese to illustrate Mac’s ability to communicate with other hardware, John Hodgeman in a wheelchair because of his non-magnetic power cord, etc.

Paul: But everyone already knows what features PCs have.

Liz: Freecell?

Paul: Microsoft doesn’t have to prove they are compatible with anyone because they set the standards with which everyone else complies. What they need to prove is that their computers aren’t just for stuffy, button-downed, nerdlinger number crunchers. In that respect the Gates/Seinfeld ads were miles off message. Those ads (in true Seinfeld fashion) were about nothing.

Liz: But they were clever, and got real attention from the media…

Paul: And they got pulled almost immediately. What Microsoft needs right now isn’t just clever. They need to start showing their hip, creative side.

Liz: But the I’m a PC ads have had half the viewcounts.

Paul: Well, the Seinfeld ads are going to play better online. The I’m a PC ads are a more traditional TV campaign that’s been getting a lot of air play on TV. I promise you that millions more people have seen them there than ever even knew that the Gates/Seinfeld ads had happened. They are very focused, specific ads with a clear message. And strong ads don’t automatically make good online videos.

Liz: But isn’t the hip online video audience the one they’re trying to reach, in order to reboot their cool?

Paul: The Seinfeld ads don’t do that. They generate interest in themselves, not the company or the products. Nobody is rethinking Microsoft or PCs because of those ads. They’re just thinking, “Oh yeah, I like Seinfeld.”

Liz: Or, “I like Bill Gates.”

Paul: Yes. He’s very charming in those ads.

Liz: I’m not going to argue that the Seinfeld ads were a success, but I don’t feel like the I’m a PC response is any much better, and its low hit rates just prove my point.

Paul: I think it’s a strong restatement of purpose — a starting point on which they can build. And it doesn’t surprise me that it has low online viewership, since it’s a fairly traditional (though strong) ad. And an ad designed specifically for TV. How many online views do Verizon’s cellphone ads have? Or Cheerio ads?

Liz: Yeah, but wasn’t your point that these ads were supposed to engage with the young, the hip, the online?

Paul: I think they do engage the young and hip. Just not in the online space. That’s the problem. Microsoft has come up with two major ad campaigns in the last two months and they each only get half of the equation right.

Liz: Have you actually seen them on the TV?

Paul: Yes. Frequently. Watch G4 or Comedy Central for 10 minutes.

Liz: Well, that is the audience — though the people watching those channels are the ones who wander off during the commercials to go surf online. But you’re right, they’re getting closer.

Paul: Maybe the third time will be the charm.

Liz: Maybe they’ll figure out that all they need to do is have Clive Owen say “I like PCs” directly into a camera. Honestly, if they did that, I’d…

Paul: I know. I know.

Liz: Maybe I shouldn’t mention that. Because as we now know, Microsoft is listening.

Paul: I think Clive Owen could get people to do just about anything.

Liz: Make a note, Microsoft. Or, um, don’t.

Paul: But, let’s be honest, you could use the help.