Marketing is tricky
Last night Microsoft rolled out the first television ad for the Surface and to the surprise of no one, failed to tell us anything useful. I guess if you pay attention you learn it has a kickstand and a snap on keyboard thingy.
Take a look.
This is new territory for Microsoft, they’re manufacturing their own tablet hardware specifically for the Windows 8 operating system that releases later this month. Why not focus on the new touch friendly OS or brag about how great the keyboard cover is? The opportunities seem endless, it’s a completely new product and they should have a lot of great things to tell us.
For instance, Microsoft says the Surface RT will ship with a preview edition of Office 2013, why not highlight that? Imagine the effectiveness of an ad campaign that focused on the power of Windows 8 and Office 2013 on a tablet. This may not resonate with us nerds but we’re out-numbered by the millions of people who work in Office every day. I’m not an expert but I have to think a smartly run campaign on this subject alone would sell a lot of these things.
Instead we got a dance video. Microsoft, you haven’t changed.