Can Live Search Help Find The Windows Mobile Marketing Department
If you have been a frequent reader of my posts, then you know one of my biggest criticisms of Microsoft with respect to the Windows Mobile Operating System has been their marketing…or lack thereof.
Frankly, I do not remember seeing a Windows Mobile commercial on television since they were originally introduced nearly ten years ago. meanwhile, I see those iPhone ads everywhere.
One of the things I think is great about the iPhone ads is the simplicity. They typically consist of a single person showing themselves using the iPhone and talking about how they use it every day.
So, here we go. We finally have a Windows Mobile ad. I watched it, and it frankly made my head ache. It shows a car darting through traffic as the driver fires up MS Live Search to help find directions. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? First, he is entering information into his GPS WHILE DRIVING. Come on, Live Search specifically warns against that. Second, Live Search is not included with the Windows Mobile OS. It is an optional (and free) download, but it is not included. So, here we have the first Windows Mobile ad since Steve Jobs became the King of All Media (or something like that) and it centers on an application that does not even ship with your phone, being used in an unauthorized (and in some places illegal) manner. Whoops! OK, Microsoft, we’ll give you a mulligan on this one, but only if you promise to bring back the pink bunnies on the next try.
Have you seen any other Windows Mobile advertising? Let us know what you thought.
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Very good point on the Live Search not shipping with WinMo. I didn’t even think of that, but that does make it a bad choice to highlight it.
On the driving while using it side of things, I maybe didn’t pay enough attention – but I just sort of assumed this was maybe a guy in the back of a cab who was our narrator …
Yeah, it was not very clear whether he was driving or riding. Though I did like the cool heads up display. Wish WinMo could do that.
Nice find by JAMM, either way.
Doug
Doug
OK, then I’m going to hope he was cabbing it
I think one of my main complaints about the ad was it just felt like too many words. May be just me, but feels like Apple ads manage to always pare words / ideas / messages down to the minimal. And that’s part of what makes them so strong …
My main problem with this ad was that it felt like I was on a roller coaster. Plus, it was really hard to watch the static (or at least motionless) screen with that high speed traffic in the background. They should have titled this ad, “Motion Sickness”
Doug
It starts with “Let’s say you’re in the back of a taxi…”. Unless Manute Bol is driving, the narrator is the passenger
The stuff whizzing by in the background is distracting though…
OK. I had the volume down because the baby was sleeping, so I must have missed that.
Doug
OK. Went back again and listened to it with the volume turned up louder. And here is my next question. Maybe I just don’t ride taxi’s enough, but do people really just hop in a cab without a destination in mind? I mean, it seems like that would cost quite a bit of money since the cabbie is going to charge you for that. Why wouldn’t you have picked the resturaunt (still with Live Search) before you got in the cab?
Maybe its just me.
Doug
Well I saw a movie last week and after killing someone, the main character got into a cab and said “Just drive”. But that’s not your every day situation though.
I thought the ad was OK, but their different OS’es are still confusion to new possible customers, they should give either have the same OS for thouch-screen and non-touch-screen devices, or have different OS and then give them clear names.
I just think that maybe the WM screen needed to be larger (maybe all the screen) so that diminish the “rollercoaster effect” and gave a better look a the UI to the people who never used a WM before.
MTC
mobile marketing will be open another market for goods and services just like in the internet”:`