Microsoft Spending $120M To Look Smaller

Ant writes "Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Microsoft Corp. will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as "a huge American company." That sound you heard while reading the article is my head exploding.

Comments

Microsoft - small?

[SimonInOz]

Obviously it's time for the obligatory Belinda joke ...

Wedding night ....

"Oh, so that's why they call it Microsoft".

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Oh brother

[PagosaSam]

Why don't they just spend $48 Billion and make it true!

Re:Oh brother

[nizo]

If only they had let the DOJ break them up they wouldn't have his problem.....

Been there, done that

[Guppy06]

Doesn't sound much different from what Wal-Mart has been trying to do in recent years. And Microsoft actually looks small compared to them.

In other news,

[jb.hl.com]

US announces to world that it wishes to be seen a small Eastern Bloc country from now on, and will so give the impression of financial hardship and military weakness from now on.

Slashdot 2007

[glamslam]

damn slashdot... What is "Microsoft"... Please provide some background in the article summary!

That much?

[abscissa]

Pardon me, but anyone or anything who spends $120-million a year on something does not come accross as a "mom and pop" operation.

So...

[nizo]

Was that really loud splashing sound made by all of America's PR firms wetting themselves at once?

No! Don't you see?

[Bazzalisk]

They aren't trying to appear small, they're just trying not to appear American.

Microsoft, that large Canadian company :)

Article Text

[k4_pacific]

REDMOND, WA (Hydraulic Press) - Steve Ballmer, who possess the world's largest ego, will spend $120 million a year on an ad campaign to fight his image as "a huge blowhard".

The campaign, using subway posters, blogs, and airplane banners, will portray Ballmer engaging in everday, blue collar activities like drinking with his buddies, bowling, playing softball, and doing the laundry. Pleasantville actor William H. Macy has been hired to portray Steve Ballmer's best friend.

"A lot of people see me as some kind of rage-filled bully. And I'm not like that," Ballmer said while emphatically pounding his desk.

"I took the job because Steve said he would 'fucking kill' me if I didn't. I knew he meant business when he threw a chair at me," said Macy in an interview.

In one ad, Ballmer bowls a strike, then turns around and high-fives Macy. He then proceeds to scream and and dance himself into a sweaty frenzy with blood vessels popping out of his reddened forehead, finally calming down enough to hoarsely shout, "I love bowling! Yeah!"

Reactions to the ads have been mixed. Many have commented that Macy seems in danger of being crushed by Ballmer, and that Ballmer's jokes come off as threatening and unfunny. The ads have been showing in select US markets, and are expected to go national in time for Windows Vista, the next version of Microsoft Windows, to ship.

Re:It is small(ish)

[Mr. Sane]

I'm not sure what data you are referring to, but Microsoft's market cap is significantly larger than Wal-Mart's.

The market cap (taken from http://finance.yahoo.com/ of listed companies as of January 23, 2005:
    Microsoft: 280.49B
    Wal-Mart: 188.40B
    Apple: 65.46B
    Dell: 71.12B

Incorrect Title, RTFA please

[Sean0michael]

The article isn't about Microsoft trying to look smaller. It is about microsoft looking less American-centered. Since 1/3 of its business comes from outside the US, it only makes sense to start looking like Microsoft cares about each country that it sells in. It wants people to believe it cares about issues facing each country and region, not just American consumers far far away.

Kudos to those who have posted similar replies. Hopefully people will read these enough to get the message. Or perhaps this just proves that most of the /. community would rather read what they want than what is on the page.

It's a replacement campaign

[NorbrookC]

I guess everyone missed the news a month ago:

Redmond WA (AP) Microsoft announced that it would drop its current overseas advertising slogan "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." after a successful trademark infringement suit filed by The Borg, who claimed that Microsoft's use of their trademarked phrase was ruining their brand, and subjecting them to ridicule by interstellar civilizations.

Next ad campaign: Hardship for Bill Gates.

[Futurepower(R)]

The next ad campaign will try to get you to believe that Bill Gates is poor. There will be an address to which you can send donations. I, for one, will not be donating, however.

Re:This is only possible in the US. Err...

[cbiltcliffe]

Uuhhhmm...that's because non-American companies don't need to spend anything to look non-American..... :)