After taking a drubbing from Apple in their long-running ad war, Microsoft’s first step was to roll out a series of quirky commercials featuring Bill Gates and funnyman Jerry Seinfield. The sketches flopped. Clueless, Microsoft embraced the “I’m a PC” label created by Apple and doled out $350 million towards its advertising campaign. Apple poked fun at that too. The slew of eye-popping “I’m a PC” spots by Pharrell, Eva Longoria, and Girl Talk did very little to quell the negative reviews.
Exasperated, Microsoft threw its hands in the air and decided to target an entirely different crowd: 4 year-olds. Oh wait, I think I just found Microsoft’s ad campaign memo. It reads: “If all else fails, try a TV commercial staring an adorable 4 year-old kid named Kylie.” This commercial is so effective because it shows that 4 year-olds prefer Windows Photo to iPhoto? 4 year-olds are so into photo editing. Barbie be damned.
