Stupidest Ad Campaign of the Year?

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I vote for Microsoft's campaign for its new Windows phone. The campaign shows a bunch of people wrapped up in their phone and ignoring their son, their wife, basic sanitation, etc. The suggested solution to this problem is to get a new Windows phone, because they are so easy to use. Well, Microsoft marketing, let me reveal a little secret to you: NO ONE who is ignoring that lady in the negligee to use their phone in bed is doing so because their phone is hard to use! They are doing so because they are busy using it. The solution would be, say, to leave your phone out on the kitchen counter when your wife is seducing you, NOT to get a phone with a nicer interface and bring it in the bedroom.

Comments

  1. Ben Osborne3:41 PM

    The ad campaign is saying that with Windows Phone, you can accomplish what you want to faster and then put your phone away. Therefore you wouldn't need to have it out long enough to be distracted by it rather than focusing one's attention on more important matters.

    A couple of nights ago my son was pretending to be a superhero, running around in a cape and talking about beating up bad guys. Using my iPhone, I took a picture of him and posted it to Facebook. Because typing on the iPhone is tedious, I brought up Facebook on my laptop and entered the caption there. While doing that, I missed out on some of my son's antics.

    I can't speak to whether the phone lives up to its promise, but the promised benefit is palpable to me.

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  2. gcallah3:50 PM

    Yeah, Ben, I got it.

    As I said, the premise, that people are spending all this time on their phones because they are hard to use, is dumb. People are texting because it is a distraction from their daily lives, not doing so wishing they could get back to their daily lives as fast as possible. Your citing one single case where this campaign might apply hardly represents serious counter-evidence.

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