Shawn Blanc on Microsoft’s Surface ad

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This sums it up perfectly.



  • http://darcyfitzpatrick.tumblr.com/ Darcy Fitzpatrick

    If I didn’t know any better, I’d say MS’s next big thing embodied freedom, fun and flexibility.

    Granted, it’s not nearly as tastefully done, but in terms of trying to convey a feeling rather than a feature list, how is this any different than Apple’s iPod dancer ads?

    Should they have done an ad where people touch the surface and the surface does things when they touch it? Honestly, what do you think the ad should have done?

  • Goro Otsubo

    I don’t think you can compare this ad to iPod ad. In case of iPod ad, carrying great music every where makes people feel like dancing. Almost every one can understand. In Surface case, attaching and removing keyboard makes people freedom , fun and flexibility ? I don’t think that makes sense. If MS has done something like first iPad ad, showing people using tablet for various purpose and various place, people can feel fun and flexibility. However, they are just dancing and playing with keyboard. All I can imagine from it is “Keyboard”.

    • http://darcyfitzpatrick.tumblr.com/ Darcy Fitzpatrick

      But that’s the thing – the educational approach to advertising a tablet has already been done. There’s not much more MS could say in an ad to depict the usefulness of a tablet, and a short spot like that is hardly the place to start comparing apples to oranges.

      MS went for capturing a feeling. I don’t think it’s as good a job as what Apple did with the iPod ads, but it’s along the same lines and I think it was the right approach. No one other than snarky tech nerds are going to have their takeaway be that the keyboard stole the ad. They didn’t make that ad for readers of the Loop.

  • nah

    Didn’t iPad have a Smart Cover ad before?

  • http://twitter.com/shycophante Shyco Phante