Life Without Walls

I have to rant for a bit.

Microsoft has launched a new ad campaign that I couldn't help but noticing because it's so stupid. I've seen a lot of stupid commercials, but these rank among the worst ever. The campaign is called "Life Without Walls," and I guess is supposed to reject the stereotype of Windows users created by Apple ads depicting Windows users as stuffy businessman-types who follow the crowd and replace it with the idea that every unique person can be a windows user, too. The worst idea about this is that they have PC users upload video of themselves saying "I'm a PC" and giving a statement about themselves, then I'm pretty sure they deliberately chose the worst examples to put in the commercials. Or maybe just the worst of nerds and Deepak Chopra* are likely to upload themselves.

Here's an example of one of the ads; but I have to warn you, there are some creepy people in this video:

First off, do you really want a life without walls? There's no privacy in a life without walls! What you really want is a life without limits, but with plenty of protective boundaries, such as walls. Maybe this is to put a positive spin on Windows' susceptibility to viruses; there are no walls to keep the viruses out. And if you replace "walls" with "limits," then you really do want to go with Apple, since you can run Windows on a Mac (as fast or faster than on an equivalent PC!), but you can't run MacOSX on a PC. Which one has more limits?

Secondly, by starting your ad with the guy from Apple's Mac vs. PC ads, and having everyone say "I'm a PC," Microsoft is unwittingly admitting that Apple controls the board here. They're acknowledging that Apple, with it's small but growing market share, is a threat. Seriously, ever since Steve Jobs went back to Apple and saved their butts, Apple has single-handedly driven the computer market and now the gadget market. If you got a Zune because you refused to buy an iPod, thank Apple for forcing Microsoft to make a product to compete. If you're a Blackberry fan excited for the new version coming out, thank iPhone for turning the smartphone market on its head practically overnight. If you like the colorful George Foreman Grills they had awhile back, thank the original often mocked but often imitated colorful iMac, which saved Apple from extinction. Apple sets not just the trends but the standards, and is driving the entire PC market today, and this awful ad campaign acknowledges that.

Stuff that imitates Apple products:

And finally, if you were Microsoft, would you really want that to be the face you show to the world? Seriously? You couldn't find people who aren't completely socially awkward nerds to show in your ads? This doesn't help the stereotype they're trying to fight, it just replaces it. At least the PC guy in the Apple ads looks like a normal guy; now I'm seeing the "real" PCs, and they're stereotype nerds.

That's a bit harsh, I suppose; surely they're not all that bad. Let's look at another one:

I'm still not being fair, because it's way too easy to make fun of Tron Guy, especially since he's everywhere these days. I should be nice, though (see comments!), since Tron has been a favorite movie of mine since I was little, and the purpose of this post is more to question Microsoft's judgment than mock a super-fan. So how about more of this guy:

They really do have some somewhat normal people, too, though:

Though some of those guys I still wouldn't want in my ad. There are more at Microsoft's website, both normal people and weird ones, like this guy and this guy. I thought about submitting my own "I'm a Mac," just out of spite, but then I decided I don't really feel like it.

Anyway, I get really annoyed by stupid commercials, and I just couldn't let this one escape.

*If you want to see a real idiot who is more than an average guy, watch Deepak Chopra talk about why he is a PC:

In the montage ad they show him saying "I'm a PC, and a human being. Not a human doing, not a human thinking; a human being." Well, how profound, Mr. Philosopher man! Maybe you should do some more thinking and doing, you might be of some value to this world rather than spouting gibberish about quantum healing and other nonsense. Seriously, what is that supposed to mean?