New "I'm a PC" Ads Show Microsoft's Human Side

Two new "I'm a PC" ads debuted yesterday, both employing a John Hodgman look-alike, Bill Gates (sans Seinfeld), and author Deepak Chopra, among others. They aim to change the Apple-induced impression of PC users as geeks operating bad software and so far from cool they'd need three maps to get there.

Instead, both ads focus on the everyday nature of PC computing and the good they do in the world. We're shown an African school teacher declaring that she's a PC and connected to over a billion people around the globe. We're also shown a blogger for Obama and a McCain supporter. We see people wearing jeans, designing jeans, and studying genes.

The first ad, "I'm a PC," runs for a minute and delves into the PC stereotype built in Apple's rather elitist "Get a Mac" ads. Astronauts, rappers, actresses, and ordinary people (selling fish, saving polar bears) flash by, explaining either how PCs enable them to work, or just illustrating how PC computers are a part of their lives.

It's a refreshing contrast to the Apple ads, mainly because they take place in a variety of colorful locations, employing a variety of races and cultures, rather than existing within Apple's stark white netherworld.

The second ad, "Not Alone," is 30 seconds and, instead of sentences, the people shown simply say, "I'm a PC" or just "PC!". This one is slightly weirder. Rapper Pharrell Williams says, "I'm a PC, just like BG" -- referring to Bill Gates -- and then Gates shrugs in the next frame. And then, after Chopra's snooze-worthy statement that we're all PCs, inseparably one, a boxer pinning a man to the mat screams, "You got a problem with that?"

It's a strange ending, but again, underscores an important distinction between the Apple and Microsoft campaigns -- Microsoft is shown real and up close, whereas Apple lives in a bubble of snarky detachment.

The new ads debuted the same day the Seinfeld ads were supposedly pulled, only to discover their deletion was a rumor, and that another Seinfeld-Gates ad has been produced and is waiting in the wings.

I scoped out some Apple blogs to see the fanboy reaction and, surprisingly, Mac lovers seem to dig the new arm of Microsoft's $3 million campaign. MacRumors features a slew of positive and/or indifferent comments. Some people say they're lame without clarification; others appreciate the simple message. The Cult of Mac expounds on their high quality, pointing out Gates' humanitarian contributions:

"Watch it carefully. The people and locations of the ad clearly reflect Bill Gates' concerns about the world: disease, poverty, education and opportunity. Bill Gates makes an appearance (a welcome one. I admire him giving away his money), and there's quite a few people from developing countries in this ad: something I've never seen in Apple's marketing."

And AppleInsider makes a good point about the actual target: "The problem of course is that Apple presents the Mac in contrast to PC because it wants to avoid any unnecessary mention of Windows. By copying Apple's line, Microsoft will be spending millions to advertise the PC rather than the Windows brand."

I suppose, "I'm Windows Vista!" isn't as catchy as "I'm a PC," but at this point, Windows is almost inextricably linked to PC computing.

These new shorts won't set the blogging world ablaze like the Seinfeld-Gates ones did, and that's a good thing. We don't need expensive actors touting products when we can do the talking ourselves.

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