Comments on: Microsoft’s “Windows vs Walls” Ad Tries to Think Different, Fails

By: arnozigoto

arnozigoto — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:52:33 +0000

@Tardis, Mirage
great posts! While photoshopping the ad, I would probably stick a “Windows” wallpaper all over the interior…
Seems amazing that the only vision that Microsoft has of freedom is that of a pastoral landscape (remember the WinXP default desktop background?). Impressive… Seems also like the guy ate the hardwood floor (it doesn’t look like a carpet, does it?).

By: gus2000

gus2000 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:55:29 +0000

This picture needs a caption contest.

“He’s escaping! Quick, throw him an X-Box!”

“Finally. I tool I can use.”

By: OldGeek

OldGeek — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:45:47 +0000

Actually the ad captures MS design philosophy:

1. Design a house (DOS OS) missing some essentials like windows (internet access)
2. When they discover people want to see out (get on the internet) they hack out a hole in the wall (Windows OS).
3. Of course in the process they leave an internal mess and expose the house to break ins.
4. The next step will be to issue a pice of plastic to cover the hole (service pack) which helps some but doesn’t solve the break in problem because standard windows don’t fit this hole.

LOL

By: mvcoile

mvcoile — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:56:30 +0000

Is it just me, or does that landscape look like the default windows desktop image?

By: Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Millions Actually Promoting the Mac — RoughlyDrafted Magazine

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:57:11 +0000

[...] and the $300 Million Ad to Nowhere Microsoft’s $300 million ad campaign tumbles with new PC ads Microsoft’s “Windows vs Walls” Ad Tries to Think Different, Fails Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Millions Actually Promoting the Mac Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ [...]

By: Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ Ads Created On Macs — RoughlyDrafted Magazine

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:06:59 +0000

By: Paul Thurrott calls Apple “the Bad Guys” of Microsoft’s $300 Million Ads — RoughlyDrafted Magazine

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:02:39 +0000

By: Mirage

Mirage — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:37:44 +0000

This image shows more of the room from the ad.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30703449@N05/2877179356

This image shows what the guy in the ad really found.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30703449@N05/2877179480

By: Mirage

Mirage — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:05:00 +0000

Is the message of this ad saying that Windows logo blocks our view, and that we need to cut it out of our world view so we can finally see what we’ve been missing? Does Microsoft want us to think that their product needs to be violently removed, as though it were a malignant tumor?

Perhaps we are to think that by looking through Windows, we can see a whole other world, one without walls. But that’s not really a window. At least not a modern one. So Windows is just a really primitive way to look at the outside world. In fact, it’s just a hole. So Windows is just a hole – a void in our personal comfort and security – so that the ad is indeed about nothing, as their ad campaign has been about thus far. And we should just use Windows to watch the world go by, just like that guy does.

But what if we choose to drink too much of Microsoft’s maple syrup (as opposed to kool-aid) and believe that what we see out there is better than where we are in here, and then we climb through and leave Windows behind to enjoy a world without the kinds of boundaries that having Windows requires? So, the ad is about leaving Windows neglected on the floor in the dust while escaping the kinds of boundaries that Microsoft has informed us that we have.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The ones who stare out at opportunities instead of taking them. Here’s to the rebels. The ones who need doors and make windows. Here’s to the troublemakers. The ones who make daring and complicated decisions that serve no purpose. The misfits. The ones who have access to large power tools and can’t cut straight. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because we’re crazy, too. Microsoft. Enjoy the crazy world we’ve built around your life.

By: Mirage

Mirage — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:54:30 +0000

When I first saw the ad, I thought the guy in it was nuts, considering he’s in a room he wants out of and the choice he makes is to cut through the wall. Maybe it’s the only choice he has, either because he’s been placed there by others, or he blundered into it himself. Also, looking at the sparse and/or oddly deliberate decor in the room (What’s with the weird flooring?) and his peculiar stance, he just seems like he’s supposed to stay in the room for his own protection, or for the safety of others. Whatever this weirdo’s situation is, he certainly does not represent myself as a consumer.

I also noticed what Tardis noticed: “You would expect the saw-wielder to then push the resulting cut-out outwards, to land on the ground outside.” But this other observation by Tardis was just too funny: “The only time I have seen people cutting holes in walls like this, they were setting up a machine gun emplacement.” Ho Ho Ho! That would be a great idea to play with in Photoshop. Maybe place some ammo and guns around in the room, making him look like a far-out member of some hick militia. This all makes me look forward to the next series of ads for all the wrong reasons.

The Seinfeld/Gates ads were also entertaining and pointless as ads. So they were funny/peculiar. So they got people talking. So do most public humiliations and tragedies. Microsoft needed to release their onslaught of ads in tandem with a new product or service. They are up at the plate swinging, and the pitcher hasn’t even let go of the ball yet. And considering how long Microsoft takes to release a new anything, they’ll be called out long before they ever truly connect.