That new Windows Phone 7 Series ad looks mighty familiar... 52
by Derek Kessler
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:05 pm EDT
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:05 pm EDT
It’s been less than a week since Palm debuted it’s first soon-to-be-on-television commercial for their new ad campaign, and we’ve already got something that looks quite familiar. Above is the first video ad for Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, and by golly if it doesn’t follow some of the exact same cues as Palm’s latest. Of course, these things do take months to make, so we can't go around accusing Microsoft of copying Palm here. Unless they have a mole inside Palm’s ad department [cue dramatic reverb]. If you need a refresher, the new Palm ad is after the break.
[via PreCentral sister site and home for all things WP7S: WMExperts]
52 Comments
That's the ad Palm should have come out with a year ago. Everything she's doing is so obvious, like uploading to facebook, navigating, searching, texting......c'mon Palm, clearly you can do better.
I just think the Palm ad is way better. Dudes and chicks like hot chicks. Chicks wanna be like hot chicks and dudes want hot chicks to like them. I looked at Palm's ad with an unbiasedview and I had no issue with figuring out what the hot chick was doing. I love the fact that Palm actually showed her using the phone to talk to a live person, which is what cell phones are for. I thought the Palm ecosystem flowed and was seamless. And, to top all, if you look at the MS spot, everyonel's smiling while being completey immersed in their phone, including the real people looking on. I mean come on now. To be honest, it's kinda rude to be immersed in your cell phone which is very personal, while you have people around you looking for your attention. Just my humble opinion. Palm's phone seems to enhance the social life while MS immerses it's user in the phone! How antisocial is that? Palm gets thumbs up! I don't need to see the device, but the spot makes me want to go find out where that hot chick is and what the hell phone is she using. Not to mention, it was short and sweet! LOVED IT PALM!
The Palm ad is still hotter. Sorry, but the WinMo7 ad put me to sleep.
But in the M$ ad, the people are totally focused on the phone, immersed in it, and not their environment, whereas the palm device stays out of the way and enhances life (flicking alerts away as they come up, etc). I dunno. The M$ phone really doesn't look that fun to use, even in this ad.
I have to watch with the audio off here at work, so maybe I'm just focusing on that more than others.
You're not missing anything without audio.
Aside, I have to agree. They are two very different ads. The Palm one shows the chic's plans changing in a glance at a text, a few taps on a map and a phone call. All in about 10 seconds (reallity says it takes over 30 for my phone to load Google Maps, but...).
The MS. One shows people staring at these (kinda clunky looking) oversized boxes in their hands and almost ignoring anything around them.
I dunno. Maybe it's just me but I think the Palm ad wins.
M.
Hate to say it but I like the MS one better it actually shows the device and os being used.. And how it would work in daily life...
I agree on showing the device. How are people going to know what to buy in the Palm ad? Man walks into Verizon, "Could I have one Palm Please?" Honestly.
Really? Cause I didn't get a good view of the MS device for all their attempts. If I had to describe it to a sketch artist, it would be "some black-ish rectangular slab-like device, roughly hand-sized. like a cell phone, but bigger." How much benefit is that really? Maybe I just need a bigger screen.
Really?
Man to Verizon Salesman: "Can you show me Palm devices?"
That way, they meet the Pre and the Pixi. Better sales.
This.
MS did it better. They didn't show the phone as clearly as Apple has done in the past, but at least the floating images mimic what's happening on the phone. Not so much in the Palm ad. Palm shouldn't be trying to sell a hip, funky aesthetic. It should try to sell phones. The Pre and Pixi are sleek, telegenic phones with an elegant interface. Show them in use. Too slow? Use the fine print disclaimer that screenshots are accelerated.
Apple does. Seems to have worked alright for them...
I agree, I like the MS ad better, but not for that reason. I think it's just personal - I like the music better, it has a kid in it (so it appeals to me as a parent more), etc. You do see the device a little more, that's true, but I'm not sure if that's that important.
Let's remember too that this ad, is over TWICE as long as the Pre ad, so it's going to show a lot more and have much more stylistic flexibility, so it's kind of hard to compare the two.
The one big thing it left me with was that I really want one of those phones with a holographic projected display! lol It definitely looked like some futuristic display technology, and I almost wonder if some people might even wrongly guess that this phone has that capability! :)
I have to disagree with you... Although MS add was good but I think Palm add was better... Music might be appealing, presentation might be sparkly but we are not trying to catch bats and flies... Palm ads targets curious customers and when I mean curious I mean custs that are willing buy the device the intrigues them the most... Palm's second's length adds displays a fair amount of features that have never been seen on a phone... A curious buyer would say "Palm?.. wait what?.. wait was that?.. did it?... Ive got to see this for myself"....
PALM ads do that to you, it entices to come into a verizon/sprint shop and check the device for your self rather than showing the full catalog in the ads...
I think Palm ads (new ads not the creepy ones) are well constructed and well thought... Of course their job is not yet done.. There is still much to be accomplished..
GO palm GO!!
What? No creepy girl?
Come on Palm!! Looks like the competition is getting tough. Please blow these jokers out of the water sooner than later. Please!!
no surprise to see microsoft using others ideas for there own their whole existence is based on stoled technology yet I have to say I would choose them over apple any day if palm goes belly up.
I never thought I'd agree to that statement. Apple has indeed become the kind of entity it had hated the most.
Any smart phone has all of these functions if it's a smart phone at all. I'd like to see what sets them apart from each other. WebOS definitely has the edge with real multi-tasking.
alright, seriously, what kind of moron would emulate palm's advertising? the new advertising has really boosted sales alright...i am a palm supporter and enjoy my device, but they need to do something relatively soon or else the end is near.
palm ad is way better. The windows 7 OS just looks confusing. Palm is so simple my 6yo loves to play on it.
Jeeeeeez
Note the gigantic difference in length of the MS ad. Where exactly do then intend to air a 1 minute and 15 second length ad?
During any of the 2-3 minute commercial breaks that punctuate modern television, I would assume.
That, and they could very easily cut this down into multiple shorter ads.
Lord help us all if Microsoft is going to start copying palm adds... Maybe they can start a creepy man counterpart for the original creepy lady? Though creepy men are never as popular as creepy women.
To the smartphone neophyte both commercials look the same, both show off the swiping pages to the left,right, up or down.
I'm afraid this is the current problem where PALM is just "another smartphone".
Palm really needs to show off the "cards" multitasking interface, and how it's used in real life situations.
Heck, even show off things that are not so "real life" (there's a youtube video showing the pre with 50 cards open!)
Palm really needs to start creating "buzz" about webOS because there is NO WAY you'll be able to compete with just word of mouth.
To the contrary, the Palm commercial conveyed more in 30sec then the MS commercial did in over a Minute. The Palm commercial showed WebOS's multitasking ability as well as smart notifications. Wereas the MS basically just showed navagating through the GUI.
If people see a series off 30sec spots that show WebOS's abilities in this way, IMO it would create more interest than a 1 plus Minute commercial that puts you to sleep.
On a sort of related note: have you guys seen the multitask of the new iPhoneOS?!? Ha...its a joke! Multitask is limited to only 'core' apps. Which means if we were to run Pandora...well that's all you get until you close it. webOS can run Pandora, two games, and a web site PLUS three core apps (camera, messaging, email, etc)...all at the same time. Don't get me started w/ Microsoft and their 'synergy' deal lol. I just can't get past how 'odd' their devices look (i.e. Mandatory buttons)...and even the OS homescreen looks tacky! Idk maybe it looks good in person, but from photos and videos it's all sub-par stuff. I think they're just MICROSOFT and that's why everyones going 'ga ga' over it. Me...I'm backing Palm 110%.
You're points are valid... But the whole "I think they're just MICROSOFT and that's why everone's going 'ga-ga' over it" thing.... Really? Nobody goes gaga over MS stuff. They're about the least hip, uncoolest (is that a word) company out there.
For what it's worth, I love the visual design of the new MS OS, with the flat colors, squared boxes and large text. Totally takes it's design cues from somewhere far, far away from Appleville. Can't say that about most other smartphone operating systems, including webOS. It's a breath of fresh air.
Now whether or not they're new OS will be able to compete with webOS in terms of versatility and functionality? That remains to be seen...
CLARIFICATION:
Even though Microsoft flopped with it's WinMo OS...they're still Microsoft and because of that fact whenever they bring to market something 'supposively' new, everyone goes "ga ga" over it. I mean geez it's getting hyped up beyond belief and it even started before it's official unveiling a few months back in Spain. Gosh, it would be nice if Palm had the money to brainwash people like Apple and Microsoft tend to do...but I guess they just gotta do the things the right way. I'm backing Palm!
Remember the Palm ad where Creepy Girl kept plugging "Bing"? Something very strange is going on here.
Fear not though. New Palm Girl is cuter than Windows Girl, and that's all that really matters.
MS seems to have taken the in between approach. Both commercials show the person that is using the device. Palm blows the screen up huge and floats it in front of them to show us what they're doing. While MS has them operate on the device, but floats a secondary screen above for us to see.
MS may have a slight advantage with the commentary text to explain some of what's going on, but the montage format demands it. Palm's may have benefited from some commentary, but it didn't require it.
The MS Commercial could be for literally any device, even a feature phone. There's nothing special about what they're showing. The Palm commercial(s?) are exclusive to Palm devices and that makes them special.
damn they did the one thing I wish palm did on the commercial. Show what was going on ON the phone and extended at the same time.
imagine them actually showing switching through cards on the phone and the extended view. That's all they need to do. Come on palm
Palm ad is much hotter than WinMo7. Good job Palm !
I like the Palm ad better. It's alot shorter then the MS., and we do tend to have a short attention span. Plus that girl is cute.
damn they did the one thing I wish palm did on the commercial. Show what was going on ON the phone and extended at the same time.
imagine them actually showing switching through cards on the phone and the extended view. That's all they need to do. Come on palm
The palm advert is a lot better. The microsoft one is boring. They probably should have shown the Pre more clearly though
I'm having family troubles. I'm getting a MS7 family counseling phone. We'll all be happier apparently.
One thing why MS ad will be more successful than Palm's one is because MS actually tells you what's going on. Objectively speaking, Palm's ad looks good and IS a major improvement from their past ones BUT if you are not familiar with the phone it says nothing (translation=everything on the screen means nothing to the average person) someone who doesnt know the cards system wont understand what she's doing, someone not familiar with the notification system wont have a clue of what is she doing when tossing them out of the screen and so on. It makes me upset that the geeks at Palm just dont realize that the ads have to be made for people that are clueless about the phone (translation = moron proof) [not saying that people that doesnt know about the phone are morons at all] I still think that ironically the iPhone has a better multitasking ad than Palm does. and it just boild my blood everytime i see the d*mn commercial. anyways that's my opinion, feel free to disagree.
Palm's is better. Also, why is everyone so crazy over MS Mobile 7? It looks like a mess.
Why do people blame companies for copying? Hell these ads were probably made by the same ad agency thus why they seem similar.
Also no device is "the best", each device and OS has it strengths and weaknesses. Geez enough of this childish crap!
WinMo 7 ad is boring, it doesn't catch my attention and it's too long, but I could watch Palm's ad so many times, that wouldn't bother me, maybe because it's not so long, has a good music and a beautiful girl with starry eyes and a cute smile.
much rather have the htc supersonic...
Damn this is almost exactly how the new Palm ad should have been. I say 'almost' because the Palm ad had a better song, a better girl, and the whole thing seemed more hip. But the one big flaw in the Palm ad was that you didn't actually see her using the device...
This MS ad got that right, it married the idea of oversized holograms with actual use of the phone, which I think is crucial.
Damn.
clearly microsoft management is smarter then Palm's.
It took Palm 9 months to sort out their marketing and copy the idea of showing what the phone actually does. Took Microsoft less then 9 days to copy it.
That said the Palm add is better in my opinion. This is kinda bland but maybe it's just that that isn't exactly my tastes in women or music. I'd rather hang at the bar with the Palm girl.
The M$ ad is frankly too boring and too long. It's got the feel of a boring powerpoint presentation. The only thing that Palm should've done with their ad is show the two current phones at the end so that people at least know what devices are available.
Got home from work; turned on the NCAA Tournament and saw the new Palm commercial during the first commercial break I saw. Hope this advertising helps!!!.... **Update** Now seen it 2 times within a half-hour!!!!
Okay, seriously? 'M$'? I think we can call them MS or Microsoft now, people.
The '90s called, they said you know what it's about.
Hmmm ... anybody notice the chick in the Palm ad crosses the street around 0:12 with the "Don't Walk" sign lit?
I would like to see a Palm commercial, with a hot girl walking down the sidewalk, texting several different people, and flipping back and forth between the cards for different people, maybe with a quick zoom in to see that their photo shows up with the text. While doing this, the person would be using one hand to do all the typing, and carrying a cup of coffee, or something to eat in the other hand. In fact the whole commercial would be like this, one handed. They could maybe throw the coffee cup away near a door and then open it for someone trying to text two-handed on a Droid.
At some point in the commercial they could show that she's been listening to Pandora on headphones the entire time.
I saw the Palm ad today on TV during one of the bball games. The chick is hot, the song is upbeat and catchy, the OS looked fun to use. I liked the Palm ad better.
well infact these kind of ads are very common today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUYmtomATMU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBm51s0fVD0&feature=player_embedded
I'm from Spain, and I don't understand some things but in the Windows Mobile ad is very difficult to me to follow the history.
The Palm ad is fresh, faster, and the girl is happy and looking to the life, not looking to a little screen. The things happens and the girl is enjoying with their phone.
The people in WinMob ad seems closed in theirselves and they are worried searching things...why? Their life seems more complicated with a phone.
Palm 10 - WinMob...4
Ah! And I don
Another thing... The blue car is a Seat 600, made in Spain in 70's years but nothing special here, there are some in the streets.
To take a photo of this car is ridiculous, in Spain, so I recommend MS to change the car for Europe.