Huong Ha COM 340 01 1

11/19/13

Microsoft's Campaign that responds to Mac's Campaign

1. Deconstruct: The Microsoft ad campaign is created to respond to Apples Mac vs. PC campaign. The goal of the campaign is to attract customers to use Windows, persuading them of the cheaper yet the same quality characteristic of the Windows PCs as compared to the Mac. The commercials feature Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, two famous and successful men one is an admirable billionaire and the founder of Microsoft, and one is a talented comedian, who was very popular during the 1990s. In the first ad, Gates & Seinfeld met in a discount shoe store, where Seinfeld helped Gates to find and fit into a pair of tight shoes. Th e second ad shows them living in a common household, having a casual dinner, staying in a small room with bunk beds, and doing all the ordinary things as in our everyday life, including being accused and punished for stealing stuffs. The two ads have made several persuasive choices in achieving their goal. The first important strategy is using Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, whose images are usually perceived by the public as positive, as main characters of the story. As stated in the theory of consistency, if we have positive attitude towards a person, we are more likely to accept (react positively to) the ideas that he/she supports, in order to avoid psychological inconsistency. Indeed, even though the ads are criticized as being awkward and less effective than their competing Mac commercials, many Seinfeld or Gates fans still claim that the ads are interesting and contain meaningful symbols that many could not understand (even themselves), simply because of their idols appearance. This can also be viewed in light of ELM the audience is encouraged to use peripheral route to judge the message. A billionaire and a famous actor surely have much credibility ( ethos), and if the audience also like them (pathos), he/she would be more likely to fall for all the jokes in the ad, which increases the chance for the message to be accepted. The second strategy is the use of identification via the two characters and the plot. Bill Gates as a billionaire might be higher, or far away from our lives, yet Seinfeld, with his established image as a funny guy-next-door, appear as a normal person that we can identify with. Both the discount store and the common family house that they go to are all meant to identify with the our lifestyle, bringing us a sense of familiarity, as well as position Microsoft as a part of our daily lives. Appropriately identifying with the audience makes the persuaders message more convincing and acceptable to the audience. Despite Microsofts effort to achieve its persuasive goal, its ads still contain some flaws that seriously weaken the message. First, even though the primary PC consumers are older and more work-oriented than the people who buy the Mac, this specific campaign is aimed at the younger market, which in general favors the Mac over PC. The ads strive for future and delicious, yet the spokesperson choice is not very appropriate. Bill Gates is still influential for his success and charitable work, whereas in 2008, Seinfeld is no longer a popular figure. Although Microsoft spent millions of dollar for inviting him, Seinfelds appearance somewhat implies that Windows is past and tiresome, and now is the time for the Mac (connotative meaning). Since he is not a hot name at the time (2008), Seinfeld might not attract attention and generate as much influence for the ad as Microsoft expected, not to mention the commercial plot lacks the fun elements usually employed in Seinfeld comedies. Besides, Bill Gates seems to struggle to fit into tight shoes, which might indicate Windows struggle to compete in the real market, as well as to adapt with its modern consumers demand. Being framed and kicked out of the house easily only mean that a PC is not so smart, and not suitable for a normal life, in spite the ads attempt to getting closer to the audience.

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2. Reconstruct: In my opinion, the use of positive public figures is a good strategy of the Microsoft campaign. Jerry Seinfeld might not be a good choice for the ads, but Bill Gates is still a powerful, favorable image. The current plot should be dropped, or at least modified. The intention to include a story with some sense of humor is good, yet the jokes are not very natural and funny as those from the real comedies. Also, some of the story details, as mentioned above, can be understood in a negative way by the viewers. Being not effective in light of the text, audience and context, the ad should be changed to reinforce its good points and eliminate its flaws. If Microsoft is to respond to the Mac ad, it can do with the same style, which makes the message much more impressive & ironic if done well. The Apple ad focuses on what the Mac can do better than the PC, Microsoft can stress the PCs advantages in its campaign. I would suggest bringing in the Mac and the PC guys; the PC guy appears more mature, neat and gentleman-like (well-dressed in suit), while the Mac guy follows all the not-so-good trends of the youngsters in his style (drop pants, shabby look with too many layers, messy) Bill Gates can act as the PC guy, and use his image as a genius, a successful businessman, and a philanthropist to influence the audiences perception upon the PC. Making the PC guy to be liked (pathos) is essential in forming the audiences attitudes and achieving the campaigns persuasive goal. Since buying a computer is generally a big decision, most consumers would be more likely to look for information related to the product, both before and after the purchase (cognitive dissonance) to confirm their right choice. Therefore the ad could use logos to be more persuasive. The Mac & PC guys conversation should emphasize that the only strength of Mac is design & video, whereas the PC is good for multiple jobs. The Mac is too hard & expensive for businesses who just care to have their jobs done. And about the fun part, there are plenty of games for PCs, while there are almost none on the Macs. All the hot games such as Tomb Raiders, Star Trek, and Half-life are PC games. It is also easier to set up software on Windows; and setting up a virus scanner program is simple and not as costly as buying a Mac and its apps. Finally, Microsoft should carefully make the conversation between the two guys as natural as a daily life conversation, easy to understand for non-technical persons (ability to examine the message), and interesting to follow. This would motivate the audience to concentrate on the ad, as well as enhance the messages persuasiveness.