The Lifestream of Jon Moss

I salute Crispin Porter + Bogusky

September 19 2008, 4:36pm

Talking about ad agencies and their campaigns is not a regular feature of this blog.

But I have to hand it to CP+B for its recent work with Microsoft, not for the ads -- for resetting expectations of Microsoft. Now, it seems, that Microsoft can take creative risks. Whoa. That'll stir people up!

The first set of ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates were so far out of left field that it was impossible for the big talkers in technology not to: 1. be excited or 2. be sanctimonious. You loved them, hated them, or were baffled by them. That made them polarizing, therefore a strong foundation-builder. (Note: they weren't offensive, the stereotypical route taken by stereotypical agencies to generate buzz.)

The next task: Reframe how your competition frames you. With a new series of ads, Microsoft has reframed Apple's "PC is a stereotype" frame. Take a look:

Now that Microsoft is sitting atop a big pile of word of mouth, is reframing the persona of what it means to be a PC user -- you're not a schlub anymore, as Apple would have you believe -- what next? After all, Microsoft products are still Microsoft products. New and magical unicorns aren't streaming out of Redmond.

Will it reframe conversations inside Microsoft?

Will it encourage Microsoft to take more risks, not with security, but with expectations?

Will it encourage Microsofties to defy convention and not be pummeled into submission?

Will it encourage Microsoft to understand the Apple user, not crucify them (which happened to me and Jackie on the Microsoft campus at the end of a workshop we were conducting!)?

I see this as a campaign to change both external and internal expectations.

Whatever the outcome, it's fascinating to watch the real-time evolution.