Thursday, September 18, 2008

Commercials about Nothing

Microsoft's ad campaign with Jerry Seinfield is apparently being canceled, according to ValleyWag and the Journal's Kara Swisher. Like "Seinfield," the commercials are about nothing.

Unlike a sitcom, commercials have to be about something, and I don't think these sell Microsoft very well. And they certainly don't take on the "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC" campaign run by Apple.

But I found them funny.

Check out the Times' interesting article about the campaign: "Echoing the Campaign of a Rival, Microsoft Aims to Redefine ‘I’m a PC.’" It's very interesting in that Microsoft has let Apple position PCs for years without rebutting or repositioning it.

Over the years, potential clients have shrug off the need to update their positioning, and we've seen cases where their competitors were actively positioning against their products/services. If you don't respond, the only message that gets through is the competitors'. That's why political campaigns have war rooms -- to quickly respond. Most situations don't require that kind of response, but companies do need to respond.

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