Kara Swisher says the post-Seinfeld Microsoft’s ads are a vast improvement. She gives them a rhetorical Most Improved Award (It Wasn’t Hard Though):
The message is aimed at attacking the more elitist message of Apple (AAPL) ads, which have effectively mocked PC guy relentlessly over the years as an oaf.
In Microsoft’s ads, its own PC guy complains at the start of each that “I’ve been made into a stereotype.”
They then proceed to show regular folk with some celebrities mixed in (including Gates, TV hottie Eva Longoria and feel-good author Deepak Chopra), all proudly declaring their PC affiliation.
While the ads feel like they are tapping a little too much into that uneasy red-state-blue-state vibe–as if we need more of that–it’s also a nice job, thankfully, although not particularly new or innovative.
Which, after the Gates/Seinfeld oddity, is a good thing.
For those who are interested, Kara’s got two more of the ads posted.