iMore Forums Apps Games Accessories Reviews How-To Podcasts Contests iPhone iPad mini iPad iPod touch Apple TV iOS iCloud iTunes Mac Hot: iPhone 5S Guides: iPhone buyers | iPad buyers | iOS users Free: Wallpaper | iPhone apps, games | iPad apps, games Shop Online Cases Chargers Screen protectors Headsets & More Free shipping on orders over $50 Microsoft makes Windows Phone commercial, sells iPhone instead By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Apr 29, 2013 a 7:21 pm 50 Microsoft has released a new commercial for the Windows Phone Nokia Lumia 920, and in it they show off both Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S. A lot. So much, in fact, it's hard to know what the commercial is about until the very end, when the Lumia 920 finally makes an appearance. Anyone outside Microsoft see the problem there?
The theme is: Don't fight. Switch. The setting is a wedding where the groom and the bride's side both use different phone platforms, and quickly get into a heated, and pretty funny war of insults that escalates into full-blown Mobile Kombat. When nothing but dust and decimation remains, the waiters wonder if Lumia couldn't just help them all get along.
Here's what Microsoft's Michael Stroh had to say on the Windows Blog:
I chuckled when I first saw the spot. As you’ll see, it plays off the strong—even irrationally strong—feelings some of us harbor about the technology in our purses and pockets. You might recognize someone you’ve met among the wedding guests. You might see shades of yourself. I sure did—and smiled.
I did as well. And it wouldn't be out of place on a late night comedy show. Actually, it would kill as comedy. But this isn't comedy, it's the real, brutal, smartphone market, and here is that Microsoft is promoting Apple and Samsung over their own brands, and that's exactly what happens to them in the market already. Apple had a "switcher" campaign for the Mac many years ago, and while they had a generic "PC" character, he was seldom if ever branded, and there certainly wasn't ever any recognizable, competing hardware in the frame.
Ultimately, however, I didn't really end up caring any more about Windows Phone than I did at the beginning, and that makes it a pretty ineffective commercial. Give it a watch and tell me what you think. Anything there that's better than, I don't know, say Microsoft actually releasing an XPhone Halo edition?
Source: Windows Phone via WPCentral
Rene Ritchie
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, co-host of Iterate, Debug, ZEN and TECH, MacBreak Weekly. Cook, grappler, photon wrangler. Follow him on Twitter, App.net, Google+.
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21 103 0 More of: Featured Video, NewsMore of: Microsoft, Nokia, lumia 920, Competition ? PreviouslyApple set to focus on "power users" with 10.9, but whither the regular folks? Next up ?The Mailbox security failure that wasn’t There are 50 comments. Add yours.
Divegeek says: Apr 29, 2013 at 7:30 pm - 1 day ago I just watched it over at android central. I think it shows the great features of both iOS and Android, but doesn't show any thing of substance about the M$ phone. It does show the bickering in a humorous light though.
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ianberg says: Apr 29, 2013 at 7:37 pm - 1 day ago Yes it's like the clickety-clack Microsoft Surface commercials that showcase no features nor functions of the device. Too bad it doesn't show the waiters taking photos of the brawl & sending them to Instagram... d'oh!
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kravex says: Apr 30, 2013 at 5:08 am - 1 day ago " showcase no features nor functions of the device"
Must have been made by someone from the car industry.
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Daniel Rubino says: Apr 29, 2013 at 7:57 pm - 1 day ago Rene, I have to disagree with you here big time as I think you missed the point.
Ads are not to understood in a vacuum. Nor are they meant to "sell" the device. They're meant to pique interest in the consumer--that's advertising 101. You only have 30/60 seconds to get and maintain viewer's attention--it's rarely about the product, it's about the image. C'mon, channel your inner Drapper ;)
All winter/spring Microsoft has been running Windows Phone 8 commercials on TV ad nasuem. Those were the Jessica Alba/Gwen Stefani ones focusing on the Tiles/personal aspect of the phone. This ad takes a very different approach: humorous, entertaining, poking fun at their rivalries. It's so that people who see the ad will be aware of Windows Phone next time they walk into an AT&T or Best Buy "Oh, that's that yellow phone I saw on TV the other day".
There isn't a single 30 or 60 second ad that has in and of itself sold a product. It's part of a broader image and campaign, but if you view just in isolation you can pick it apart.
The fact is, it's a fun(ny) ad and gets people talking. It's no different than Samsung's iSheep ad making fun of Apple fans waiting in line and we all see that Samsung is riding mighty high today off of that line of attack.
"Microsoft is promoting Apple and Samsung over their own brands"
If you think that was "promoting" Apple and Samsung over their brand as oppose to satire, ergo making fun of them, then I'm not sure what to say exactly. All I know is satire can be very effective.
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Rene Ritchie says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:14 pm - 1 day ago Yeah, I am channeling my Draper -- and I worked in product marketing for a decade. No way Draper lets the competition get that much screen time or brand recognition.
Most people don't pay much attention to commercials. They see glimpses between getting snacks, chatting, switching channels, and other distractions. They don't get branded satire, they only see the brands.
When you make a commercial, you need to make it survive low attention environments. That's why commercials are often so brand-crazy, and why product placements are so in-your-face about brands.
Samsung's done this type of commercial before, making fun of iPhone owners. That was a brand behind, and arguably still pretty bad.
Glancing at this commercial, 90% of the time, you wouldn't even know it was for Windows Phone, and that really is a problem.
I want Windows Phone to succeed, I just wish they'd give it a much better chance than this.
Halo phone, Daniel! Halo. Phone!!!!
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Josh Beshears says: Apr 29, 2013 at 9:08 pm - 1 day ago The fact that you have a article talking about a windows phone ad on a iphone site tells me this ad worked.
Reply Emeroid says: Apr 29, 2013 at 11:24 pm - 1 day ago But it doesn't tell everybody that. I showed it around, not a single person I knew said it was a Windows ad.
It worked but only in so far as it grabbed attention. It didn't promote what it was designed to promote.
jpf22467#IM says: Apr 30, 2013 at 10:40 am - 20 hours ago Wait a min Emeroid, you showed this ad (the 1 min ad, that spent the last 15 seconds showing a close up of the windows phone and talking about it), and no one knew what the ad was about???? Did they speak english?
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dannyd86 says: Apr 29, 2013 at 9:17 pm - 1 day ago I agree Rene. I'd add that Windows Phone, and windows 8 in general has some weird marketing behind it. Hard to tell who there targeting. No real clear message. And no real effort. Like they're confident the product will sell itself.
Leaving the road for blackberry to dominate that #3 spot all day long.
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demontooth says: Apr 29, 2013 at 10:25 pm - 1 day ago I'll admit I would probably buy a halo Xphone.
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tqmcguire says: Apr 29, 2013 at 11:38 pm - 1 day ago I showed my wife, a Windows Phone 8 user, this commercial. We laughed. It was a funny commercial, I'll give it that. We laughed about the guy yelling at Siri for karate, old people with iPhones, and we made fun of the old Samsung "yep, simple as that," commercial by touching our phones together. Then I asked her what she learned. She said mainly Galaxy phones can share by touching. But the real telling thing here? 20 seconds after it was over she asked, "Wait, was that a commercial for my phone?" And this was after my encouragement to watch it and pay close attention.
Reply Trappiste says: Apr 30, 2013 at 2:20 am - 1 day ago This ad has now been featured on every site I have visited this morning. And it is the first WP ad that has done that. Sure, there have been ads focused on the superior Lumia camera technology, the ease of use vs. competing platforms, etc. I do not remember a single one of those, though I know I saw them.
This is the best WP ad yet.
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scatteredthings says: Apr 30, 2013 at 5:48 am - 1 day ago I can see both sides of the argument. On reflection, however, I think where the ad really failed in its message is that it was this: "People are passionate - to the point of violence - about iPhone and Android/Samsung (what great phones they must be to inspire such emotion). Windows Phone, on the other hand, is for dispassionate waiters who watch other people living their lives, but never join the party/fight."
Reply unraveledideas says: Apr 30, 2013 at 4:01 pm - 15 hours ago I was going to write a reply arguing this was a great commercial (I have and love my Lumia 920), but now I think I agree with Renee. My first thought was "Hey, just like the commercials Samsung used to gain traction", but then I realized that this commercial doesn't show a single feature of the 920 except it comes in red and yellow. If they just added a few more shots of the phone, how it simply integrates all the social media for sharing such an epic event etc. that would have been great. As it is... not so much.
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iSRS says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:15 pm - 1 day ago Those celeb ads were nice, but didn't make me want their phones. Even the old PowerBook ads, I never believe the celebrity actually uses the product 90% of the time. As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, No Doubt posted a picture on its official Instagram feed of Gwen and Tony, writing songs, in the studio. A MacBook Pro and an iPhone 4/4S with them. Granted, the iPhone could have been Tony's, but no Windows phone in site.
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Marcelo Zaca says: Apr 30, 2013 at 6:31 pm - 12 hours ago Daniel Rubino, that's great observation. Agreed.
Reply IIJBII says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:13 pm - 1 day ago That ad was awful for windows phone.
Reply iSRS says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:18 pm - 1 day ago Apple's logo got as much air time as Microsoft's. still, funny
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thesorehead says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:23 pm - 1 day ago I liked the ad, especially its lighthearted silliness (I can't get the Apple tattooed on some dudes flabby chest, who then gets decked, out of my mind) - but I have to agree at least in part. The Nokias at the end were essentially a punchline, and if you don't stick around for the whole ad you won't get it.
Basically we needed to see WP and/or Nokia earlier in the piece.
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benjitek says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:24 pm - 1 day ago Windows Phone's biggest problem is Windows 8. I've been using it for about a month now, and while it's not horrible, it doesn't move me to switch from iOS to Windows 8 -- it makes me appreciate my iPad/iPhone even more. Prior to getting Windows 8, I'd thought about going all-Windows... not any more, regardless of what advertising is done by Microsoft.
Reply ScottAB says: Apr 30, 2013 at 12:46 pm - 18 hours ago Windows 8 is not the same at Windows Phone 8. Fortunately WP8 works well on a phone; Win8 works on tablets and is a work-in-progress on a desktop.
-SAB
(WinPhone refugee with an iPhone 5 due to the app gap)
benjitek says: May 1, 2013 at 4:03 am - 3 hours ago Duh... Regardless, as I said, Windows 8 steers potential users away from WindowsPhone. Thanks though for stopping by ;-)
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blueyestm says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:43 pm - 1 day ago That commercial may not have show cased the Lumia as much as it could have but that was one fricken hilarious commercial. I loved it. I do not, however, like the Surface commercials. Those bug the ever loving heck out of me.
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SockRolid says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:46 pm - 1 day ago Note to Microsoft marketing department: you mention iPhone, you lose.
It's that simple.
Steveo#IM says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:49 pm - 1 day ago I can't believe everyone is arguing about the whether or not the commercial is effective...doesn't that kind of prove the commercial's point?
Reply dannyd86 says: Apr 29, 2013 at 9:16 pm - 1 day ago People on mobile nations discuss everything, just because you see a topic here, or even on all tech blogs accross the Web, doesn't mean an average consumer will even notice it
Reply vianar says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:51 pm - 1 day ago I liked it, good for a laugh. Didn't make me want a windows phone but made me want to see a battle like this first hand, it would be hilarious to watch. "search karate" that's awesome.
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R1cki97 says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:58 pm - 1 day ago i still prefer iphone because i think is better and have a better design, i mean all people may have a different opinion, but i think this commercial is just hilarious, at least they weren't like samsung galaxy ads vs the iphone
Reply Wlctttrue says: Apr 29, 2013 at 8:58 pm - 1 day ago Hilarious.
Reply rowdys03 says: Apr 29, 2013 at 9:11 pm - 1 day ago Funny...but not much else in my opinion. At least the Samsung ads pointed out features that were either on the Galaxy S3, or ones that the iPhone lacked.
Reply SockRolid says: Apr 29, 2013 at 10:26 pm - 1 day ago Except for those off-color (literally) bad-comedy ads with people standing in line at Apple stores. But yeah, the Seth Rogen / Paul Rudd Superbowl ad was great.
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Joebin says: Apr 29, 2013 at 9:36 pm - 1 day ago It is definitely a chuckler of a commercial, and I agree that it doesn't help Microsofts cause at all. It's a head scratcher how bad MS fumbles with mobile technology even in their ads with all the resources they have.
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draztikrhymez says: Apr 29, 2013 at 10:53 pm - 1 day ago The wife and I with our non expert marketing backgrounds thought it was hilarious and a great commercial for Windows Phone
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ernbrdn says: Apr 29, 2013 at 11:15 pm - 1 day ago I think it's brilliant. I showed this ad to my dad (who still uses a flip phone, and has no idea what siri or Bluetooth is) and he was horrified buy the behavior. He and I and I'm sure each of you work with or know people exactly like that. To him it portrayed fanboys in a bad light, like the windows phone user was the only sane one in the crowd. He was outnumbered but sane. To the tech savvy crowd we are debating and posting about how "our" phone was pictured more, and how Microsoft needs to work on advertising. HELLO!!! We are all giving them far more PR than they could have achieved with this ad alone. On a competing platforms fan site no less. If you ask me "Mission Accomplished"
Reply ScottAB says: Apr 30, 2013 at 12:49 pm - 18 hours ago +1
Reply anthonyjpv says: Apr 30, 2013 at 1:32 am - 1 day ago You're probably reading too much into it. Its clearly a windows phone advert.
But, it'd have been better if they omit the names of the phones they were "bashing" like Samsung has done. Just not show them, strongly elude to them though. They'd have been better subtle "burns" this way.
sharedbyme says: Apr 30, 2013 at 3:30 am - 1 day ago I think its just the worst marketing when you feature another company in your advert. Windows and Samsung should have more original ideas.
Reply Goodbye_blackberry says: Apr 30, 2013 at 3:33 am - 1 day ago It's not an iPhone commercial so you have to give it a negative review.
Reply ScottAB says: Apr 30, 2013 at 12:49 pm - 18 hours ago +1
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Mo007 says: Apr 30, 2013 at 4:57 pm - 14 hours ago +1
Reply sanc333 says: Apr 30, 2013 at 5:39 am - 1 day ago did Microsoft just made a fool of themselves..
proud to be isheep !
west3man says: Apr 30, 2013 at 9:28 am - 21 hours ago *takes out my red pen and rolls up my sleeves*
Reply squirble says: Apr 30, 2013 at 9:17 am - 21 hours ago Every time I've seen this commercial, it's been after one of the other commercials (Grant Hill, Gwen Stefani, etc.) I think this is a great marketing strategy. You may not be able to tell from the beginning that it's a Windows phone commercial but you know for sure that it is not an iPhone or Samsung commercial.
Reply west3man says: Apr 30, 2013 at 9:31 am - 21 hours ago I didn't think that the branding for Nokia was strong enough but I did think that it was a Lumia commercial. In other words, it may not have been a Windows phone commercial but it certainly was one for the Lumia, specifically. I'm just not sure that the Lumia name was as prominent as, say, the Apple logo on the dude's chest.
Reply jpf22467#IM says: Apr 30, 2013 at 10:44 am - 20 hours ago I have had an iphone since the 3G was introduced. I am not bashing iphones or iphone users. But this is why so many people make fun of Apple fans. The ad was bashing iphones. the only feature that is showed was a man trying to get Siri to work (with no luck). But somehow, many people on here think the ad was positive for Apple? Did you really see a positive view on the features of the iphone in that ad?
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Ces1ne says: Apr 30, 2013 at 3:27 pm - 15 hours ago Keep reaching bruh bruh.....trying to get Siri to magically teach him karate and it didn't work, how will Apple ever live that down!!??!!??
A better & more relevant swipe at Apple would have been if they had the guy asking Siri for directions out of the fight to safety and it gave him the wrong ones or something along those lines. Meaning, most average users know about Apples (overblown IMHO) shortcomings with their Maps app, but not that Siri has network/parsing errors.
The only thing that part of the commercial did was make me think of the ending of "Meteor Man" when they touched the books during the fight scene. METEOR MAN FTW!!!!!!!!
Reply bluefish266 says: Apr 30, 2013 at 1:50 pm - 17 hours ago First off I'm an iphone user and probably will be for the foreseeable future, but this ad was made for the Superbowl. Microsoft doesn't really care about features at this point. They're just trying to get people to realize that there's another really good phone out there while taking shots at the IOS and Android users. This is just one ad. They'll spend millions in other ads down the road promoting features. This one did exactly what it was supposed to do. Make people laugh and remember the Windows Phone 8. Ha ha ha ha. So funny :)
Reply asuperstarr says: Apr 30, 2013 at 6:43 pm - 12 hours ago This is a good commercial. Now if Microsoft could just make products just as good.
Reply kidkb1 says: May 1, 2013 at 12:00 am - 7 hours ago Major fail. Hilarious but I didn't learn anything of substance about the phone.
Reply TekNiKal says: May 1, 2013 at 6:35 am - 28 min ago Some of you apparently missed the point of the commercial. Humor. "Don't fight. Switch."
"Search karate! Karate!" LOL!
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