Survey: “I’m a Mac, You’re a Dork” Campaign a Resounding Success
According to the results of the 2007 CoreBrand Power 100 study (PDF), Microsoft (MSFT) has suffered significant erosion of its brand power since 2004. The software giant fell to No. 59 in Corebrand’s ranking of global brands for 2007, down from No. 11 in 2004.
Why? The market research firm speculates that the decline could have something to do with Apple’s (AAPL) “Hi, I’m a Mac” ads.
“The effect of Apple’s ‘Hi, I’m a Mac’ advertising campaign may have taken its toll on Microsoft,” CoreBrand CEO James Gregory said in a statement. “The launch of a series of new products, following a long, relatively dormant period, will be closely watched to see if it will have a positive impact on the Microsoft brand.”
Yeah, Vista probably had nothing to do with it …
Comments
If I recall correctly, the same ad campaign was greated with ridicule outside the U.S. In England and France, viewers thought the Mac kewl dude was offensive and obnoxious. But in Japan, the PC geek was considered cool. So, it wasn’t a universal success.
Posted by Jim Fawcette at March 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pmYou are correct. my friend. From a June 2006 post I wrote for GMSV:
Steve Ballmer would have been a far less sympathetic “PC guy,” but he declined for obvious reasons …
Apple’s latest ad campaign is funny, but is it effective? According to Slate’s Seth Stevenson, it’s not. “I’m smack in the middle of the target demo,” Stevenson writes in Slate’s Ad Report Card. “I’m a PC user, and I’ve often considered switching to an Apple. Thus, I feel equipped to say: These ads don’t work on me. They are conceptually brilliant, beautifully executed, and highly entertaining. But they don’t make me want to buy a Mac.” Why not? The smug, unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets Mac character is annoying.
“The ads pose a seemingly obvious question — would you rather be the laid-back young dude or the portly old dweeb? — but I found myself consistently giving the ‘wrong’ answer: I’d much sooner associate myself with” the “PC” actor than with “Mac,” Stevenson writes. “As usual, Apple hopes to shift the debate away from a battle over specs and value and toward a battle we can all understand: cool kid versus nerd. But these days, aren’t nerds the new cool kids? And isn’t smug superiority (no matter how affable and casually dressed) a bit off-putting as a brand strategy?”
http://www.svextra.com/blogs/g.....mer_w.html
Posted by John Paczkowski at March 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm