Help me make a spec ad for MS/Surface 2

[longcipher]

I'd like to shoot a spec commercial for the new Surface 2 and am wondering if any of you have any desire in seeing it or helping me work up the concept. I shoot commercials for a living and am, obviously, a fan of Windows Phone and Surface. A spec ad is basically a "fan-made" ad for a product or brand. My hope is that MS would see it and copy it and sell some more products! =)

The kernel of my idea is based on an interaction I recently had with an Apple ******. I was using my Lenovo Yoga 11S and it was the first time he'd ever seen Windows 8 (he'd only read about all of the negatives). I shot some video of his company -- popped out the SD card -- folded the Yoga into tablet mode (which really piqued his curiosity) and started showing him some footage. Pretty quickly he began asking me about Windows 8, and over the course of 20 minutes he grudgingly fell in love with the OS. He agreed with my sentiment that if the Yoga or Surface had an Apple on the back, people would be falling over themselves with praise.

So my idea for this ad -- and here is where you can all help --- the message is: If this were an Apple product, you'd love it, so give it a chance. I know it sounds desperate, but the ad should be funny and playful. MS has proven they have a sense of humor when they released the "Browser You Love to Hate" ads, which were brilliant -- this just amps it up to say, "look, we know the Microsoft was uncool, but we've changed -- check us out. We're out-Appleing Apple."

So let's kick around ideas -- I have the gear, talent and crew to make something that looks like anything you'd see on TV. Who's in?

 

[SwimSwim]

Huh, your whole thing about an Apple logo got me thinking...

You know Jimmy Kimmel's famous, Pedestrian Question segments when he let's people try out Apple's new products? I put the "new" in italics because, well, he's actually just using devices already on the market, and letting people make fools of themselves when the praise supposedly new Apple products, that in fact, Apple has been selling for quite some time. If you haven't seen them, do so! Really funny!

Anyways, the ad would be people going around showing people the "new iPad" (No, not that New iPad), but in reality, it's actually a Microsoft Surface. However, every single Microsoft and Surface branding would instead be replaced with an Apple logo and iPad branding respectively. Then, people would be allow the run wild. They'd get to play with it, use iWorks (Office, but of course, rebranded for the sake of said ad), get content from the Appstore and iTunes (Windows Marketplace and Xbox), and well, you get the idea.

After people fall in love by how fast, fluid and powerful it is, the big reveal: the Apple stickers and peeled away, and lo and behold, it's a Microsoft Surface!!!

I think that'd be an interesting idea for an ad. Probably something I'm missing here, but I'd very much like Microsoft to release something along those lines. People always scoff when they hear my Lumia 1020 is running Windows Phone, because Windows and Microsoft just have some bad luggage. But as soon as I show them what it can do, they're blown away. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll buy it, but they are impressed. And I hear stories like this all the time, whether it be Windows Phones, Windows 8 or Surface tablets. Honestly, the only thing keeping Microsoft from succeeding, in many ways, is the fact that it's Microsoft, and not Apple. As such, I feel Microsoft ought to poke fun at that aspect of people in a new ad.

 

[Daniel Gandolfo]

In making an advert for the Surface 2 you have to advertise the Surface 2 strong points.

These are,

1. Beautiful design.
2. Speed of new processors ie Tegra 4 and Haswell i5.
3. Microsoft Office
4. Cloud Drive 200 GB
5. Skype free usage for a year.
6. Ability to stream almost any video via IE11.
7. Improved cameras both front and back facing.

What not to do.

1. Make any reference at all to the iPad. If you make any reference to the iPad in any way at all (ie inferring) then you are in fact advertising the iPad. The idea of advertising is to focus the attention of the observer on the product in question and NOT onto the competition whether it be positive or negative connotation.

Nevica

 

[SwimSwim]

Very good point, and it makes sense. If it's one thing Apple does right, it's marketing, and the only time I can recall any ads by them calling out another product would have to be their famous, "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" ads.

Other than that, I don't really recall them calling out another product to poke fun at it or anything of that nature. Their focus is typically, well, focusing on the product. They don't flash everything it can do, every spec it has, etc., etc., but rather, go for a simple commercial. There's rarely any dialogue, just people happily using their product. It's simple, and that's what works.

Microsoft ought to do something similar. However, they are pretty close, with their new Surface windows commercial.

 

[jason8957]

The iPad story reminds me of those old Folger's Crystal commercials in which they secretly replace someone coffee with Folger's and they were delighted by it.

Put the bitten fruit logo on a Surface and watch the Apple fan drool over it and then the big reveal.

 

[etphoto]

I like SwimSwim's idea

 

[JKing106]

Start showing a person in an office using it connected to the keyboard to do Word or Excel stuff, show them uploading documents to Skydrive, then show them at home handing it to their kids to play games. Then show the while family using Smartglass to control an Xbox. Voiceover at the end stating "The Surface. Your perfect companion for work, and play in one device. From Microsoft." You know, what the should have done in Day One.