For those of you who tuned in for the NFL games this weekend, you may have noticed the “I’m a PC” commercials from Microsoft. I could state the obvious here regarding the attempted brand play, but come on–Microsoft is one of the top three brands globally, and I found another compelling feature of these TV ads. Along with clips from the likes of Eva Longoria and Bill Gates himself, we got a couple of shots of some regular old Microsoft employees and their email addresses.
I had a chance to procure a few of these addresses, jeff@windows.com and sean@windows.com, and took the liberty to email them. (I know what you’re thinking, but these emails weren’t hacked!) I received two quirky email auto-responders. Though I’m not yet sure how the content impacted my perception of Microsoft, it was still an interesting multi-channel approach, using prime time television paired with good old email marketing. Not to mention these emails were successfully delivered to me in record time–after all, @windows.com is a domain that will probably never be blocked from our Inboxes.
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Didn't see those particular ads, but they sound a lot more effective than the Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates commercials that were at least a full minute of bizarre non-sequitur after bizarre non-sequitur. Can you share what the auto-responders said? I'm curious!
Here's one of the emails:
Hello! I'm a PC – and I can't answer your email right now. I'd like to say that I'm out climbing Mt. Rainier or biking across Europe with the Swedish Beach Volleyball Team, but in fact I'm probably just chained to a desk somewhere in the depths of Redmond pounding out product specifications.
Now that I have been in a commercial, Microsoft has given me access to super-secret "BillyG" level of executive resources. That's right – I have my own email auto-responder!
This, as you have probably surmised, is my pre-prepared auto-response (All natural, no filler. No animals were harmed in the making of this response. Except for a ferret.) I really would like to have answered you myself, but if I did, (a) I'd probably get no work done, and (b) then I'd get fired, and (c) then I'd have no chance of doing any more of those really awesome commercials.
So let me try to prognosticate a few of your questions and answer a few of them.
Why did they put you on TV?
I think it's my devastating good-looks and animal magnetism. No, really – there's a ferret stuck to my leg right now.
But really – you aren't even an actor!
No I'm not. But I play one on TV. I really am a Microsoft Program Manager. I work on IPv6, and other things that you haven't heard of.
How did you get selected?
I auditioned along with a couple of hundred others. I guess I looked very Engineery. And the ferret probably helped.
Are you interested in more acting?
Oh no, I think that Engineering is MUCH more fun.
What's with Windows Vista?
You've been watching those commercials again, haven't you? Windows Vista rocks. Listen to real users, not actors.
-The Real PC, Sean Siler
Pretty funny! MSFT has always been lauded for its workers writing their own blogs and creating branding/customer relations–in direct contrast to Redmond's official PR strategy, which is usually to provide stock answers from a script, attributed to someone of no real consequence. Heh. Thanks for sharing!