Ok - I now realize that the Windows phone has a whole campaign of abhorrent ads. Here’s another one I just saw. Not as bad as the one I previously wrote about but still pretty sucky. Again, the primary message they’re trying to impart is that their smart-phone works better and faster than other phones, with the dubious notion - ok, lie - that the user will then spend less time messing with the phone and more time participating in life. I don’t know if there have been any studies on this, but all common sense, anecdotal evidence and personal experience point to the contrary. The better our devices, the more we use them, not less.
And the scene of this dad at his kid’s soccer game quickly shooting a “feel better” to a “friend” doesn’t inspire much admiration. In fact, his “feel better” is the exact kind of meaningless communication, a posture of caring without necessarily really having to care, that Facebook and texting fosters. Sure, maybe he’ll call this guy later that night or even visit him, but more likely I think not. A “feel better” text is only a notch or two up from the bottom rung of an auto Happy Birthday email you get from your accountant or insurance broker. But I digress… (more on the arms race of artificial courtesy and caring another time).
Another interesting note on this ad is Microsoft’s aping of Apple’s dork vs. cool guy motif of their “Get a Mac” campaign. Only here of course the roles are switched, with the handsome guy sporting three-day stubble and a hoodie that says “I work for myself or in some artsy field” as the Windows user, and the bald schlub with a muffin top in uncool corporate slacks and shirt as the presumable iPhone user. The original Mac campaign was obnoxious enough, but copying an obnoxious campaign in a desperate attempt to appear cool is just that - desperate. You gotta love when billion dollar corporations behave like middle school girls. Thanks Microsoft for bringing us a new high point of mature discourse in our culture.
