Feb 06 2007
The Wow Never Wowed
“The Wow Starts Now”
That’s Microsoft’s slogan for Windows Vista. I’m sure most of the “wow” is about the price for what is essentially XP Service Pack 3, the hardware requirements, and the dizzying and superfluous eye candy known as Aero.
But even with $500 million spent on pumping up the latest OS, Microsoft seems to be getting no one excited.
Many marketers have bolstered their public relations efforts in recent years and replaced some of their traditional advertising with events or stunts that the press is likely to cover, like Bill Gates’s appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.” This reflects a shift in mentality from a top-down approach to a groundswell strategy, Mr. Farella said.
This time around, Microsoft also faced consumers who spend their free time with a vastly different array of media and entertainment devices.
“It’s harder to get people’s attention now because of media fragmentation and audience distraction, and it’s easier for people to ignore you,” said Chuck Porter, the chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. “Mass media to a degree doesn’t exist anymore.”
I wonder if he’s willing to put some coin on that theory. The reason I wonder is because, as Valleywag put it, this is probably more of a Microsoft phenomenon.
Marketers have several explanations for Vista’s lack of curb appeal — media balkanization, short attention spans, that old devil Internet — even though all their excuses don’t stop the crowds gathering outside any Apple Store whenever Steve Jobs clears his throat.
That’s the way things work. Microsoft can’t sell an OS? It’s media balkanization. Apple blows the doors off its stores with every product launch, defying that logic, and all the experts sit there scratching their heads.
Nice to see some things never change.
