Microsoft, You Are Wrong: Advertising Campaign Will Not Work
August 24, 2008
Erdelsky Behtik (OP/ED): In the age of economic recession, when gas prices are at record high, and when 51% of American population lives on less than $18,000 a year and struggles to survive foreclosures, Microsoft seems to be doing just fine. They even decided to throw a $300 million party to promote Windows Vista - arguably one of the most hated operating systems in the World.
Microsoft doesn’t get it. Money cannot change the fact that Microsoft is a sinking ship. It doesn’t take money, but intelligence to change the hearts and win potential customers. Apple is one of the most admired brand names in the World.
Microsoft’s campaign will not work. Pro-Apple web sites dominate online tech news. Thousands of pro-Apple blogs and web sites, including Palluxo!, influence public opinion in Apple’s favor. And we don’t get paid $10 million to do it, nor is Microsoft interested to spend their advertising dime on pro-Apple web sites. But reportedly, they are ready to cough up $10 million dollars to Jerry Seinfeld, a comedian whose legacy is in the ’90s. I guess, Microsoft’s mindset is still stuck in the 90s.
Here is one provocative, but fair question for Microsoft - You really think that people are impressed with the capitalist fascism you promote, especially when you throw $10 million dollars into Seinfeld’s packets for appearing in a short ad campaign, while millions of people in the U.S. and Canada barely survive on low wages?
It seems that after Bill Gates distanced himself from Microsoft, everything went from bad to worse. At least people had slightly more respect Gates than they will ever have for Steve Ballmer. After all he has done in the past, do you think that Ballmer has any credibility? Of course not. And his anti-Apple advertising campaign is a failure in the making.
Everybody knows Ballmer for his psychotic behavior, most notably his bizzare appearances at Microsoft events caught on video and circulated in the media. The most famous of these videos is Steve Ballmer’s ”Monkey Dance.” This video features Ballmer during his mental breakdown sprinting and hopping around while verbally screeching, screaming and making other various high pitched noises and hand gestures on a stage for about 45 seconds after being introduced at a Microsoft employee convention. Another video, captured at a developers’ conference, featured a visibly shaken, sweat-drenched Ballmer, chanting and shouting the word “developers” fourteen times in front of a gathering of Microsoft associates. The latest big hit video shows Ballmer cowardly ducking behind a desk to evade eggs during a speech in Budapest, Hungary.
To conclude this post — Shame on yourself Microsoft for paying Jerry Seinfeld $10 million when people in North America are hit by recession and foreclosures and barely surviving. We urge everybody not to buy Microsoft’s products.
Um, dude? I share your Apple love, but if you really think PALLUXO! (!) influences “public opinion in Apple’s favor,” then I’d like a hit of whatever you are smoking.
“You really think that people are impressed with the capitalist fascism you promote?”
Come on. I love Apple but that was a really stupid thing to say. If fact, your the rant is filled with silly hyperbole. Stick to the facts and avoid the Communistic manifesto nonsense. That sort of talk turns off most consumers.
Microsoft is in the predicament their in because of the lousy quality of their product. Let’s leave it at that.
P.S…. and if Microsoft wants to waste $10 million on Jerry Seinfeld, so what? Gates has nothing to apologize for. He’s one the world’s biggest philanthropists and he should be respected for that - even though his software really is junk.
lol lol lol lol lol you are so FUNNY!
how do you think vista got it’s reputation? APPLE’S MARKETING
ever heard of Mojave the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft?
(think)
I didn’t think so
here is a forum site posting with several links on it.
http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f11-off-topic-discussion/42768-all-vista-haters-here-pr.html
and why not, here is a summary
http://gizmodo.com/5028903/windows-xp-users-actually-love-vista-if-they-think-its-something-else
MS renamed vista, served to Vista haters…
90% liked it… they just didn’t know it was Vista.
PSn Mac OS X is NOT more secure then Windows, http://www.pcworld.com/article/143962/vista_macbook_outonly_linux_left_in_hacking_contest.html.
Kdub wrote: “Um, dude? I share your Apple love, but if you really think PALLUXO! (!) influences “public opinion in Apple’s favor,” then I’d like a hit of whatever you are smoking.”
Lemme have some of that too! …Dude, that is some far-out bud.
( I think Palluxo is letting the Microsoft Midnite Bag-job guys know he’s ready to deal.)
• “In the age of economic recession, when gas prices are at record high, and when 51% of American population lives on less than $18,000 a year and struggles to survive foreclosures…”
• “people in the U.S. and Canada barely survive on low wages?”
• “when people in North America are hit by recession and foreclosures and barely surviving.”
Where to begin. I’m guessing that the writer is not an American but a envious 3rd worlder or simply does not understand market capitalism. The U.S. is NOT in recession, we have NOT had consecutive months of of negative growth which technically defines a recession. The foreclosure “crisis” is much less severe than the Savings & Loan debacle of the 80’s & 90’s where 747 banks closed. U.S. unemployment is about 5% or less in some areas nationwide, and the envy of Europe where unemployment rates are much, much higher.
As a percent of total home expenses, energy costs are significantly less of a burden than they were in the 70’s. Gas prices are too high but if the “Don’t Drill” Democrats would allow off-shore drilling prices would drop dramatically. Prices have already begun a downward trend just because we are debating the issue.
In 2006, according to the Census Bureau, the median annual household income was $48,201.00. Also, “the United States followed the trend of other developed nations with a relatively large population of relatively affluent households outnumbering the poor.” We are hardly struggling to survive, in fact, the United States is doing just fine overall.
So, to the editors Palluxo, I ask you - where did you dig up this over-heated writer? Not only are his statements grossly incorrect, he makes your site look amateurish. He has the right to his opinion but not the right to exaggerate, distort and make up “facts.”
Microsoft pissing away 300 million on an ad campaign is good for the economy. The money filters down to the little people eventually and no one has to buy a PC to make it happen.
@ yuio,
Mac is more secure than Windows. No Mac OS X viruses vs 200,000 plus Windows viruses.
Anyone can damage any computer when they have physical access and a password. That’s what happened in your example.
The Mojave BS was a big mistake that called all Vista users stupid. Think about it.
Apple better than Microsoft? Well at least they make good products but that doesnt avoid them to be fascists too. The way you upgrade your OSX is by buying a new mac for $2000. What a good deal in a recession context! Get your facts right before spiting shit in an article.
Linux is the only way to go right now :)
CJ said, quote: “The U.S. is NOT in recession…” <– keep dreaming, you’re in denial.
CJ said, quote: “the median annual household income was $48,201.00.” <– That is household income, not individual income. With 51% of people earning less than $18,000/year in the U.S. and the rest of population earning more, some earn billions, you get median income of $48,000. You argument does not disapprove the fact that the U.S. is swimming in debt and at least half of the U.S. citizens live in hardship.
Prove it. Show me your facts and the sources you site. I quoted US Census statistics. What defines a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth in real Gross Domestic Product. That hasn’t happened.
Or from Wikipedia, “In the USA, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines it more broadly as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales… Newspapers often quote the rule of thumb that a recession occurs when real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is negative for two or more consecutive quarters.” That hasn’t happened either.
Don’t mistake media driven hyperbole in an election year as reality. As much as the media would like us to believe the sky is falling, very often it is not. In any case, not much of what the writer penned is factually true except that Microsoft products suck.
It’s hard to believe U.S. citizens are swimming in hardship when we spend so much money on iPhones and overpriced Priuses. I await your source list. Drop it by my site (linked).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bureau_of_Economic_Research
CJ, you quoted definition of “Recession” as reflected in the gross national product. Generally, recession is defined as a period of general and sustained economic decline, which is the case in the U.S. and Canada.
A snapshot of American debt shows a troubling picture. Of course they can purchase iPhones and other luxuries when they don’t pay their credit cards.
- About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.
- A verage households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt.
- Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade.
As of April 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.5 trillion, about $31,600 per capita (that is, per U.S. resident). Of this amount, debt held by the public was roughly $5.3 trillion. If, in addition, unfunded Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, etc. promises are added, this figure rises to a total of $59.1 trillion. In 2007, the public debt was 36.9 percent of GDP, with a total debt of 65.5 percent of GDP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt
No. Now your are muddy the waters and leaving out the qualifying words “negative growth.” As I said, to date, there has not been sustained negative growth. You don’t get to wave your hand and trumpet “recession” as the op-ed writer irresponsibly proclaimed.
“In the USA, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines it more broadly as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales… Newspapers often quote the rule of thumb that a recession occurs when real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is NEGATIVE for two or more consecutive quarters.” I repeat. That hasn’t happened. In fact, I believe that last two quarters GDP was revised upwards a bit.
Debt is an issue, I do not disagree. I take issue with the writer’s other whimsical use of so-called “facts.” The facts are that unemployment is hovering around 5%, the savings & loan crisis was much worse, median annual household income is $48,201.00 (2006) and “the United States followed the trend of other developed nations with a relatively large population of relatively affluent households OUTNUMBERING the poor,” according to the Census Bureau.
If writer wants to make a case against Microsoft then do it with the real facts and not exaggerations. Jerry Seinfeld getting $10 million to do a silly ad campaign is ultimately meaningless in a multi-trillion dollar dollar economy. It will either succeed or fail on it’s merits, not the writer’s obvious political opinions.
Why isn’t the writer complaining about Apple board member Al Gore getting millions to give green speeches all over the world and all the while his “carbon footprint” is larger than most Americans. Just an example, his behemoth 20-room mansion outside of Nashville used nearly 23,000 kilowatt-hours last August. As of March 22, 2007, Algore charges $100,000 per appearance plus expenses. Not mention his other very lucrative activities. Where is the “capitalist fascism” outrage at Algore’s inconvenient earnings?
Al Gore’s Convenient IPO: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2008/tc2008035_855093.htm
From the NY Times today: “Americans enjoyed higher average income in 2006 for the first time since 2000, when the last economic expansion ended, the latest tax data show.
Adjusted gross income reported on tax returns in 2006 averaged $58,029. In 2006 dollars that was an increase of $739, or 1.2 percent, from the $57,289 average in 2000, analysis of Internal Revenue Service data showed.”
“Adjusted gross income reported on tax returns in 2006 averaged $58,029.”
Minus taxes!
“Americans enjoyed higher average income…” <— What Americans? What percentage of Americans have income less than $10,000 a year? What percentage of Americans have income less than $15,000 a year, etc? Can you be more specific? A sizable population of American citizens are poor, and that’s unfortunate. To statistically reduce the percentage of poor people in the U.S., the Census Bureau issues the poverty thresholds lower than in other countries. Today, if you have an income of $10,400/year in the U.S., you will not be considered poor.
The U.S. poverty threshold in particular has been criticized for understating poverty, by using an outdated “basket of goods” to set the standard. While cost of these goods is adjusted for inflation every year, the basket of goods itself remains the same. It excludes the cost of items that were rare among poor Americans in the 1950s, but which are now common, such as a telephone, a car and a microwave oven. Mollie Orshansky, who devised the original goods basket and methodology to measure poverty, used by the U.S. government, in 1963-65, suggested an updated list in 2000. She found that the point where a person is excluded from the nation’s prevailing consumption patterns, is roughly 170% of the official poverty threshold. Furthermore, in developed countries, such as the U.S., poverty tends to be cyclical. Thus, the poverty line only indicates how many people are poor at any one point in time. It does not report the number of people who will experience poverty during their lifetimes. In the U.S. for example, roughly 12%-13% fall below the poverty line in any given year, but roughly 40% will experience poverty line at some point over a ten-year timespan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_line#Understating_poverty