It's Not About Being Cool

I was going to call this post "Microsoft Should've Hired Steve Carell", but according to the Crave blog on CNET, a clever someone named "Dirk VanNerden" (nice handle) got the idea down on pixels before I could.  Heck, he even suggested including others from The Office cast, which is what I was thinking too...maybe a nice little self-satire of MS's nerdy image or even a parody of the "Get a Mac" ads...  But hey, great minds think alike, right?  Kudos to you, Dirk VanNerden.

Anyway, when I first heard that Microsoft hired Jerry Seinfeld for $10 million to star in its "Windows Not Walls" ad campaign for Vista, my gut reaction was: "Way to go with someone who's still relevant, Microsoft."  I mean, really?  You're trying to make Vista seem cool by hiring an actor who was cool in the '90s?  What's next, product placement on Dawson's Creek?  Maybe a guest appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show?  I debated writing a post about it, but realized many people had the same reaction I did.  But, after thinking about it a little more, I became a tad more open-minded: "Well, who knows, the ads might be good...Seinfeld is a funny guy."

Still, I wasn't going to write about it until I saw this article--specifically, this comment from Matt Scherer, president of Scherer Communications, who says the Mac ads have effectively stigmatized MS as a company that employs "dweebs":

Despite some of the best marketing support in the industry, you can't undo that image with Jerry Seinfeld.  Frankly, he appeals to me, but I'm 53 years old and I am not switching to Macs.  However, the next generation of computer buyers want Macs, and their ad campaign has re-enforced it with the 18-to-24 and the 24-to-30 demographic groups.

And that's when it hit me: it's not about being cool.  Microsoft doesn't need to target the 18-to-30 year-old demographic.  More precisely, Microsoft doesn't need to target Mac users, many of whom fall within that demographic.  In fact, Microsoft shouldn't target Mac users.  Why not?  Because no matter who is endorsing Vista, the fact remains that 90% of all desktops run Windows.  Windows is status quo and Mac users--especially those in the 18-to-30 demographic--are about going against the status quo.  They want their technology to express something about them: that something, unanimously, is that they're different.  Apple's played upon this since day one with its Big Brother and "Think Different" ad campaigns. 

If the reasons for using Macs were just about self-expression, reliability, security or any other criticism that is lobbed at Windows, the reality is that any above-average user could easily customize a Vista PC to his heart's content, keep it free of viruses and malware, and use it daily without ever experiencing any of the alleged Vista horror stories.  The point is, many Mac users' reasons for using Macs are largely non-technical--it's an image thing.  So why should Microsoft try so hard to convince a group of people who don't really want to give Vista a fair chance to begin with?  It would be like trying to convince Linux users.  Besides, chances are that it won't work.  Sure, MS might convince those who are on the fence to begin with, but by and large, Apple fans will stick to their Macs because they're invested in the Apple brand, not the Mac OS.

The irony of Scherer's comment is that by his own, bluntly honest portrayal of himself, he's unintentionally proved that hiring Seinfeld was a good move on Microsoft's part--at the least, he's proved it wasn't a bad move.  There's always going to be that niche group of users for whom using something different is a top priority.  And last I checked, I don't think part of MS's campaign is going to involve ceding market share to Apple.  So no matter what, Windows users--Vista included--are going to be the majority. 

If I were to sum up my point in one piece of advice to Microsoft, it would be this: unless you're talking about hard-core gamers, forget about the niche.  Target your core, which includes users just like Matt Scherer who are too old, too stubborn, too indifferent, or too whatever to switch to Macs, but are holding off on upgrading to Vista because of all the negative press they've heard.  And if Jerry Seinfeld appeals to a 53-year-old marketing exec like Matt Scherer, chances are that he's going to appeal to a lot of others as well.

But just for the heck of it, let's pretend you asked me who I would pick for Microsoft's ad campaign.  Would I still go with Seinfeld?  Ehh, probably not.  Like others have said, he's just not as relevant as he once was and, ironically, seems more likely to be a Mac user (he had one as a prop on the show).  I would go with someone who is more "today," but is not at a level of celebritydom to be over-exposed...someone like--well, whaddya know--Larry David!  Why?  Because he's popular enough to be considered a celebrity, but he's still a comical figure even if you don't know who he is.  If you were a Curb Your Enthusiasm fan and saw Larry David on a Vista ad, you'd be like, "No way, it's L.D. in a commercial...a Microsoft commercial!"  And if you were younger or just didn't know who he was, you would end up referring to him as that "funny old guy in the Microsoft commercials."  And who doesn't like a funny old guy?