Zunespirational

I doubt those Ads will hold the viewer's attention or leave a mark like the ipod commercials do. I like the music, but the commercials are long drawn and actually look a lot like most amateur videos on YouTube do. Maybe that's why they posted it there?! ;-)

(I am a microsoft employee and I am disappointed by this lacklustre marketing)

The iPod had a nice a run, but now the Zune era is about to begin...

I won't comment on the quality of the ads, since my judgement regarding such things is normally at odds with most (at least with most in the community that would be reading this blog).

But I will say that the mere existence of the ads is cause for concern at Apple. To my knowledge, no other portable media player maker has even bothered to advertise their product (or, if they have, not nearly to the extent that Apple has). When Apple introduced iPod, they advertised it while those that were already in the market sat on their hands and watched (mockingly, secure (and misguided) in the knowledge that iPod would fall on its face), basically ceding the market to Apple. And even since then, they still don't bother to advertise their product (I refer to TV ads; I *have* seen some website ads *yawn*). Zune is the first competitor to actually take on iPod in TV advertising.

John: sorry, but that's just over the top and has to be called out. Have you looked at Zune or are you just a Microsoft employee cheerleading? Hell, even most Microsoft employees I know aren't cheerleading that way.

Let's be realistic here. Zune isn't going to take much market share away from Apple -- yet.

Maybe in the future they will, but Zune doesn't have anyone I know salivating the way iPod does.

And, let's say that Zune does get a little bit of traction. All Steve Jobs has to do is release the wide-screen version we're all really waiting for and none of Zune's ads will matter a whit then.

"The iPod had a nice a run, but now the Zune era is about to begin…"

A nice run? A phenomenal run! And I don't think the Zune will even get close to it.

The ads are too long. I started playing one. Clicked forward. Same stuff. Clicked forward, same stuff. Dogs sniffing eachother's butts in the park. Next commercial. Same thing. Even the iPod ad with Bob Dylan has more live and zest than these do. Microsoft marketing has no clue. They couldn't buy one if they spent all the money in Microsoft's bank account.

There's no clincher as far as the Zune goes. Bigger screen? Half and inch at the same resolution as the iPod. Even Robert who's a HD freak knows that the chunkier the pixels the worse the image. :) Wireless? I can't sync it to my machine wirelessly. Lame. (correct me if I'm wrong on that). Apple should put out some teasers about the new video iPods and put a freeze on Zune purchases by tempting people with what's to come. To digress; I think this January's MacWorld is going to be a great one. Leopard. iPods. iTV. iPhone? All these things tied in to iTunes (iPods) as a complete package.

The iPod has nothing to worry about. With the various iPod models, all bases are covered. Even the new little Shuffle is a cutie.

What? MS didn't put these ads up on Soapbox? Maybe they did. Hold on. What's Soapbox? :)

I think it’s really wrong to go into Zune Vs iPod at this stage. There is no doubt that iPod is a clear leader. Even if Zune would have come out with some killer feature it would have taken at least a year before Zune would have had a decent market share (considering iPods lead). At this stage Zune needs to take baby steps and learn to walk. That should be the goal in the first year. We can talk about Zune vs iPod after at least two years. By that time we will know if Zune can run or not.
I think it’s a good start....but there is a long way to go. I will buy Zune because of subscription and because my grand dad has an iPod.

Rohit

Robert,

I agree with your assesment of Zune's impact this holiday season. I totally disagree with you about the quality of those advertisements.

These commercials are all about building the Zune brand -- but what brand values do they actually convey? Being social? I don't think most consumers are going to understand what the hell that means in the context of a media player.

This whole initiative at Microsoft has disaster written all over it.

Rohit, I agree with you that Zune's feature set may not have made such a big dent in the iPod's lead. However, what had the outside chance of helping was if Microsoft could come across as "cool". People see and remember "cool". That's why people kept buying ipods in spite of the battery issues and a class action lawsuit about it. It's the cool with a good design that hits the home run. With the Zune, Microsoft seems to have neither.

I thought the ads were poor. I'm sure Microsoft paid an Ad Agency a lot of money to put these together; and these kind of ads often win "advertising industry" awards. That doesn't make them good ads - it's just that many "creatives" in high-end ad agencies often spend a lot of time with their heads up their own asses.

So, why are those ads so poor? Simply - it's because probably 98% of the audience watching them won't have the first clue what they're about. Now, in fact, having ads that can't be understood *can* be a great tactic for a new product launch... but only if the ads are interesting. Why? Because cryptic ads, that are interesting, lead to *huge* amounts of editorial coverage... and a new product benefits infinitely more from editorial coverage than it does from ads.

The problem here these Zune ads are terminably dull. I don't think anyone's going to care.

MS seems to be doing the same thing with Xbox 360 ads at the moment. I went to the movies last night, and ahead of the movie, amongst the ads was an ad for Xbox 360. I have no clue what the ad had to do with Xbox 360 - there was no Xbox 360 featured or any obvious video game featured. And I have no clue why anyone would want to go out and buy and Xbox 360, or any games for it, as a result of watching that ad. People will just think, "Huh?"... and then move their attention somewhere else.

So, the Zune is the device for people who are into devouring their friends after tearing them limb from limb?

Oo.... Kay....

Robert, if this is your idea of a good ad, then perhaps you should think about abandoning marketing as a career.

>>The iPod had a nice a run, but now the Zune era is about to begin…

The Zune era, huh? This guy must work for MS. I'm clearly not the target of those ads because I thought they were terribly dull. They appears to really be going after the Xbox fanboy niche which isn't likely to put a dent in iPod sales. Putting them on YouTube doesn't make them cool either. I've spent some time with a Zune already and nothing about it makes me want to give up my iPod. When someone like myself mostly listens to podcasts and music, what good is a larger, battery draining screen? They *almost* had something there with the wireless feature, but then screwed that up. How long will it take someone to hack the Zune so users can exchange MP3 files with no restrictions? When that happens, the Zune starts to become interesting.

"Maybe in the future they will, but Zune doesn’t have anyone I know salivating the way iPod does."
------------------

The audience at Ellen DeGeneres's show seemed to be pretty pumped about Zune. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irylEFW6KLs


But I think you guys need to start judging Zune on its own merits instead of always comparing it with iPod. Microsoft has publicly stated that they will not be in any position to challenge iPod for at least five years. So why keep making these useless comparisons?

@Podcaster:

"I like the music, but the commercials are long drawn and actually look a lot like most amateur videos on YouTube do"

The ads do seem long, but as far as looking like YouTube videos, name one thing video related more popular with kids right now than YouTube. You can't. Bingo, you just admitted that Microsoft hit their target audience dead center with the look and feel of the ads.

I like them, aside from the fact they seem to go on a little longer than necessary.

For the first time, I think I'm actually beginning to get the wireless sharing side of things. Whether or not it takes off is going to simply be down to the number of units that sell and how popular Zune becomes. Having said that, these adverts are inspirational in that they make sharing seem appealing and the idea of being able to share and discover music is suddenly a decent selling point.

Basically these adverts work. They're fun, a bit quirky and have actually sold be on an idea as much as it has sold be on a product.

Anyway, nice to see a decent advert from Microsoft anyway. The Lion/Gazelle is my favourite, but the others push the social side of things better. I'm impressed. Didn't think I would be, but I am.

Awful. Those ads are simply awful. I thought the iPod ads were corny, but they left an impression, not enough for me to buy an iPod. The ads leave the impression that you can share your music with friends, if that's NOT the case people will be pissed and the Zune will be the subject of a hate campaign. Maybe the ads should be Zune, iPod's ugly cousin, or maybe call it the "Stepchild", ugly but still nice. I saw an Office ad with the Dinosaurs, what a joke, it was horrible. Then the ads with the Office Superhero, god help us all.

Microsoft is missing the mark with these ads. Instead of trying too hard to look cool (which comes of looking pathetic), they should be educating the consumer about the advantages of their biggest differentiator with the iPod: an unlimited music download library via the subscription model of the Zune Marketplace.

Use the subscription model to explore, find new music, revisit old favorites, and download and listen to as many different songs as you like. Then throw in the benefits of using wireless to share music which allows you, your friends,and other Zune users to use this power of the subscription model on the go.

They could easily get this message across in 30 seconds, compared and contrasted with these minute long plus, uninspired, unfocused ads.

Microsoft has more money than God, and they only have a finite number of opportunities to really get people's attention and educate the consumer. Spend that money wisely and give yourself an chance to succeed, or keep on going with the "Look, Microsoft is cool too" theme and see where that gets you.

If you're going to enter this market and you want grab some market share from the iPod, bring your A game. These ads aren't it.

lost interest when ms announced (or someone in ms) that zune would not be launched in europe/uk for another 12 months, and maybe longer! I am sure apple will love the lack of competition.....

I like it,you have to put one foot in front of the other.

Larry, I've corrected your comment for you:

"The audience at Ellen DeGeneres’s show seemed to be pretty pumped about FREE SH!T."

The ads don't do anything for me. I am pretty sure I would flip the channel halfway through thinking it was an ad for the GAP. If Microsoft is trying to go head to head with the iPod they have already lost. Apple is already working on the next iPod with iTV and who knows what else.

Podcaster said : “Rohit, I agree with you that Zune’s feature set may not have made such a big dent in the iPod’s lead. However, what had the outside chance of helping was if Microsoft could come across as “cool”. People see and remember “cool”. That’s why people kept buying ipods in spite of the battery issues and a class action lawsuit about it. It’s the cool with a good design that hits the home run. With the Zune, Microsoft seems to have neither.”

I agree, but what is cool? Something which is cool to one may not be to another. Look at the add closely. The type of people, the clothes they are wearing. It almost as if the image which it tries to convey is of being an outsider. None of the character are polished or refined or sleek. The worst thing which MS could have done was make an ad like iPod and try to be sleek. They are targeting people who will buy Zune because it does not look or feel like iPod. Granted it will have smaller audience right now but they are looking to get their foot in for now.

I showed it to number of people at work today. They either hate it or love it. Instead of targeting a huge audience they are going after a smaller market. That’s because if you generate a feeling of love it or hate it then the people who love it are more likely to buy a Zune. I think that’s their goal right now.
iPod is so far ahead that they will not even compete with them with this 1G model.

I think they adopted a similar strategy with xBox and have worked for them.

Rohit

You know those Apple ads where the "PC Movie" comes out and introduces himself?

Yeah. That's what these ads remind me of.

Awful. Simply awful.

I like to think that the measure of an ad's power/affect is in the number of copycats & spoofs it inspires. Think of Cat Herders, 1984, and Mikey Hates Everything. To that end, let's wait & see whether anyone spoofs 'Welcome To The Social' or not. As for the Zune Era, there'll be an initial (easy to misread as 'mania') surge in adoption and overall Zunegeist when the product launches, and then the natural drop-off while we all wait for Zune 2.0. I think it'll take at least two years before we see whether the Zune Era has dawned or not.

That lion ad was kinda disturbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-AJrnJNZb4&NR

These ads could be alot worse. They are going for influencers first and neither one has Ballmer doing his monkey dance.

Seriously Robert, you liked these?

I posted my thoughts at http://ufies.org/archives/002042.html

Basically I zoned out of the ads a few seconds in (except for the weird one with the cougar and deer). You have to draw people in a bit. They looked a bit like the water balloon fight ad that the 360 had, but without the interestingness of people throwing water balloons at each other. Sorry, they totally missed the mark.

Also it's unfair *not* to compare the Zune to the iPod, as all the "grassroots" zune sites are using the ipod as the comparison. I think most will agree that the ipod ads out there are far more interesting / drawing in than the zune ones. I mean, shouldn't the zune be touting what it does or have over "other" mp3/video players?

Apple made iPods because they 'loved music'. Microsoft made Zunes because they hate iPods. Which do you think will succeed in the long run?

Yeah DD, no one at Microsoft loves music, and they all look just like the PC guy in the Apple ads. They couldn't possibly compete with all the black turtle neck wearing music lovers at Apple who are all so altruistic and have been giving us all such a great deal on the iPod.

Even if Microsoft doesn't dig into Apple's market share initially, just stopping the increase of Apple's market share will benefit us all. Apple might actually have to innovate for a change and lower their prices (yeah, like they really came up with the idea of an MP3 player, have the best features or the best quality product).

At this point how cool are you sporting the same iPod as your grandma (and as Borat says "the iPod mini is for women"). To use Job's own analogy and again quote Borat, just because everyone kisses your girlfriend (even the guy with the cold sore) doesn't mean you want to stop kissing your girlfriend...Not!

Everyone is quickly counting MS out of the race when it hasn't even started between MS and Apple. We all know how the last race ended up, with Steve Jobs having a measly little share of the market and trying so desperately to say "But I'm cool" through his latest batch of TV commercials, which comes across as a little desperate and should come along with price tags and performance specs above the actor's heads (perhaps with the Mac of the same price choking because he can't perform the same functions as the PC of equal price, or perhaps showing the PC upgrading to an uber-girlfriend and Porshe while the Mac is stuck with his college buddies and a Miata).

It's dead simple: Annoying vs. Pleasing.

1) Products and Marketing that annoy the target user population will not thrive in the face of:
2) Products and Marketing that are pleasing to the target user population.
This is why Apple owns the market after coming to the party late.
If Microsoft can place the iPod in position 1 and take position 2 for itself - Zune will have a thriving future as a platform.
Strike 1 for Microsoft.
We'll know how many strikes Microsoft gets after being called out. They may get only one strike if the target user population concludes Zune is a real stinker.
Zune doesn't even have to be a poor product to be labeled a bona fide Stinker. So much hyperventilating capital was bet on Zune being the last chance to kill the iPod - what with *gasp* wireless sharing and *oooooh* FM radio!-that the iPod was so "pitifully lacking" ;) - not to mention the bottomless sack of cash Microsoft is throwing at Zune, - that this sense of Zune's rollout being so off-key, so tone-deaf - is more then enough to condemn a even a pretty decent product to Stinker Hell.
Yeah, I can just see my teenage daughter's face on Christmas morning - when she opens the gift destined to be the centerpiece of her Treasure Trove -
It's a ZUNE!
BAD DADDY! BAD, BAD!