NFL Commentators Still Calling Microsoft's Surface Tablets "iPads"

AmiMoJo writes: Back in 2013, Microsoft inked a $400 million deal with the NFL to promote the Surface. Unfortunately for Microsoft, commentators and even players couldn't help themselves from referring to the tablets as iPads. Last year, announcers referred to the Surface as an "iPad-like tablet,", while Chicago Bears quarterback called them "knockoff iPads". It happened on more than one occasion, and while you can bet that Microsoft and the NFL have been in talks with announcers and players about the goof, little progress is being made. This year, the problem persists.

Comments

Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they just have bad karma now or something but even this post was put under http://apple.slashdot.org instead of http://microsoft.slashdot.org!

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[TWX]

On the other hand, I wonder if apple is starting to get worried about losing a trademark if it becomes too genericized. The addition of a single letter to a common English word is not exactly a practice limited solely to Apple, esomething and isomething terms have been around for some time. I'm also a little surprised that Microsoft hasn't lost trademark for Office and for Word, though they seem to make a point of using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office when referring to their own products, and productivity suite when referring to that class of software bundle without regard to originator.

Apple has now launched a product lacking the "i" with the Apple Watch, they might be worried about trademark, or they might be worried about the various negative implications of iWatch as a term.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, a genericized trademark only happens when products are being marketed as such.

Like a Kleenex = Tissue. Microsoft isn't encouraging Surface Pro's to be called iPads, and there's nothing on the device to even suggest they are such. It would be pretty hard for anyone to claim something that isn't an iPad is an iPad since there identifying marks on the devices that say exactly what they are. There isn't on a tissue paper.

Same with "Bandaid brand bandages" People call them bandaids because there is no effective means of knowing if a "bandaid brand bandage" or "generic store brand bandage" is. Aspirin, Escalator, Laundromat are all genericized because there is no effective means of identifying the item from something of a different brand.

If you went to the Samsung store and asked for an iPad, they won't sell you a Samsung Tablet, because that's not what you asked for, and it doesn't run iOS software.

Where iPhone and iPad run the risk of genericization is when the device operating system looks too much alike, thus enabling that confusion, which is part of the reason why Samsung is insisting on being such an asshole in the intellectual property department. If they can weaken the IP around the iPad, the more they can copy, and the more "Generic" such items start to look.

The average person knows what an iPad is, they don't know what a competing tablet PC is.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, it becomes genericized when people, not the makers or stores, start calling all items of the type by the brand name of one.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Your facts are off. Aspirin is a lost trademark because of Bayer's actions, or rather inaction, not because you can't find a way to label an Aspirin tablet, in fact mine are, though being in the US, they have lost their trademark on that word.

Elsewhere, not necessarily.

And if I were manager of a Samsung Store, I'd expect them to try to sell a Samsung tablet if you ask for an iPad, they might not succeed, but they should try.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Aspirin is a brand name jackass.

I prefer generic donkeys and mules over the overpriced brand name ones.

What is your position on brand name miniature red-head roosters?

The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

Really, nobody should be confusing the Surface with the iPad. There are many differences:

1) The Surface has a keyboard and touchpad
2) The Surface has real USB ports
3) The Surface runs Windows
4) You can play games on the Surface. There are no games for the iPad.
5) The Surface has a kickstand that enables the screen to stand partially upright.
6) The Surface is more secure than the iPad.
7) It is easy to use the Surface. The iPad is so complicated my grandma can't use it.

There really isn't any similarity, and it's really quite embarrassing that people can't tell the difference. For all the promos the NFL announcers have to read, you think they'd get used to calling the tablets used on the sidelines by their correct name, which is, of course, the Microsoft Surface.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[mark-t]

Point 4 is entirely untrue.

On point 7, that your Grandma may find the iPad harder to use the Surface is anecdotal evidence for your proposition. It remains that the underlying argument that the Surface is easier to use than the iPad is entirely subjective.

I will not contest the other points, however.

But really, putting something that can be quite objectively shown to be false in your itemized list of differences really negatively impacts your overall argument. You could have left point 4 out and just listed six points and your argument would have been much stronger than how you presented it.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

You're kidding.

1) The surface has a joke keyboard. touchpads suck on all devices.
2) The surface has a real USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, too bad you can't do anything with it, since it would tether the device to the item attached
3) The surface "RT" runs a version of windows that doesn't run desktop windows. The Surface Pro runs a full version of windows that consumes half the hard drive.
4) You can't play games on the Surface, there are few. There are far more games for the iPad. You must be thinking of the Surface Pro which can run shovelware games but forget running any "real" game on it.
5) The surface has an adjustable kickstand. This is not a selling point, as it's just another part of the device to snap off.
6) The surface runs windows RT... which is only "more secure" because it doesn't run real windows. The iPad is more secure than the Surface Pro because Malware only infects jailbroken devices.
7) It's not easy to use any tablet device. My parents and grand parents don't own any. The only people in my family who own tablets are the preteens.

And I think point 7 nails the real problem. Anyone over the age of 12 doesn't know the difference by virtue of not using the things at home.

That's okay.

[buckfeta2014]

My mother still calls a PC tower a modem...

Re:That's okay.

[Dusthead Jr.]

My former boss used to refer to it as a hard drive and the CRT monitor was the computer. I upgraded it to a larger size and he asked if I had gotten a new computer. Most people I know seem to call any generic mp3 player an iPod. And before Android became a household name, every smartphone was an iPhone.

yeah

[Ryanrule]

they should have went with padd.

This problem really shouldn't exist.

[jtownatpunk.net]

The commentators are supposed to be professionals and plugging products is part of their profession. Do they fuck up the "Brought to you by Dodge: Take a stand against ordinary." plugs? No. And, if they did, they'd be getting yelled at during the next commercial break. Can you imagine if they said "Brought to you by the Toyota F-150, heartbeat of America." when the dodge logo popped up on the screen? (I just picked Dodge and their slogan out of thin air. I have no idea if Dodge advertises like that during NFL games but you get what I mean.) The tablets are a product and it's being advertised. Microsoft has paid a ton of money for this product placement and I find it hard to believe that their contract doesn't include assurances that their products will be correctly referenced a minimum number of times per game. And it probably has penalties for misidentification. Like calling their devices by the trademarked name of their biggest competitor. You don't need to be an expert on the product you're plugging to get the name right.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[DNS-and-BIND]

Newsflash: announcers aren't really that smart.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[jtownatpunk.net]

They didn't at first. Somewhere along the way, they got the name on them in big letters on the hand-hold strap.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your last name is "The Mindless"...

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Scutter]

NO. Do not excuse them by saying "well, they're just athletes". They are PAID PROFESSIONALS who should be held accountable to the paid profession in which they are engaging. If they are incapable of doing the job, they should quit or be terminated.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news, NFL professionals still calling Hand-egg game 'football', says Rest of World.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[BitZtream]

Yea, because Apple doesn't like when people make fun of Surface and imply that they'd rather have an Apple device instead of the shitty Microsoft version.

Apple LOVE it.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[thegarbz]

They're job ... is to announce the game, not sell product.

The Surface IS JUST A SHITTY IPAD KNOCK OFF

You're just an ignorant prick that has no clue what he's talking about

The irony hurts so very much.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Cajun Hell]

What do you think a "Steeler" or a "Ram" or a "49er" is?

Talking about products is all those people ever do. This is commercial entertainment, not a real sports game between the people on your street. Go outside and play some sports. And then tell me if any of the other people you were with, said "ooh, ooh, can I be the announcer?" Sports don't have announcers.

This a field of professional entertainers and professional announcers whose job is to sell. They're paid to sell you the teams, the players, and whatever else the media outlet got paid to promote. If that includes Dodge or Microsoft, then their job is to sell you Dodge and Microsoft.

Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems to be mostly an American thing to call things by brand or company names instead of using generic terms...
Jacuzzi - hot tub
Crock pot - pressure cooker
Chapstick - lip balm
Kleenex - tissue
Q-tips - cotton swabs
Rollerblades - roller skates
Scotch tape - adhesive tape
Sharpie - permanent marker
Realtor - real estate agent
Tupperware - plastic containers
Weed eater - string trimmer
Wite-out - correction fluid
Band-Aid - adhesive bandages
Dumpster - waste container
Xerox - photocopier
Post-it - sticky note
Plexiglas - acrylic glass
Styrofoam - polystyrene
etc etc etc....

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[mark-t]

Not exclusively American at all.

Hoover - Vacuum

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Zontar The Mindless]

A crock pot is not a pressure cooker. (Try "slow cooker".)

And my wife calls them Tupperware. She's from China, has never lived in an English-speaking country, and only made her first visit to the US about 4 years ago.

Here in Sweden, I hear the terms "rollerblade"; "Xerox", "Post-It", and "Plexiglass" used even in Swedish.

Rollerblades, BTW, are specifically *inline* skates, not any roller skates.

And nobody's had a need for White-Out in about 30 years; do they even still make that stuff?

Yep

[Sycraft-fu]

It is actually a bad thing, overall for Apple. The last thing they want is for every tablet to be an "iPad" because it then makes it much harder to market and differentiate their own products. While I'm sure MS isn't pleased, Apple is likely non to pleased either. Having your brand turned generic isn't something any company wants. Even if you still technically control the trademark, if it is a generic term in the mind of the ordinary person, you've lost.

Who the fuck can remember all those stupid names?

[Taco Cowboy]

No matter how good, how useful a product is, if the name is stupid, it won't be remember

Take toilet paper - what brand of toilet paper can you think of?

Take sport drinks - other than Gatorade, what are the other brands you can remember?

Ice tea ... can you pronounce 'loo-zee-ann'?

Microsoft Windows successfully toppled OS/2 because the 'OS/2' name was too fucking awkward

iPad, iPhone, iPod are popular not only because of their functionality - they have crispy clear sounding name

As for Microsoft Surface? Who the fuck can remember that?

But The Noisy *Surface* IS easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

a) Noisy fan -- reminds you it isn't a tablet --- at least not the kind of tablet the iPad and Android are on.

b) The kind of tablet that needs anti-virus. Weeeee!

c) Battery life requires you be near a power outlet. Versus an iPad that can do several days.

d) The kind of tablet with really low market share, again reminding you it isn't an iPad.

e) The Surface, unpopular enough, the average joe thinks it is iPad.

The Surface has more in common with the kind of tablets Moses brought down from the mountain, than the energy efficient and touch oriented tablets that real people are using.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[davester666]

Are you talking about a tablet, the table, or the wall-mounted device?

Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoover

[Chrisq]

Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoover. That isn't worthy of a slashdot article either

Dominant brands

[xMonkey]

Weed Eater, Kleenex, Super Glue... Dominant Brands enjoy being the general term. They gotta be careful though to not lose their trade names.

Re:Kleenex, Xerox, Band-aid

[Nyder]

All the same concept. Generic terms for what is and used to be specific brands. A 'tablet looking thing' will be refereed to as an "iPad". Same as if they were using Dell, Asus, Samsung tablet looking things.

iPad.

Tablet.

A word you used both times describing the objects. My guess is this will be what everyone will be calling them.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[bickerdyke]

Or on how much you care about being turned in an advertisment spewing sock puppet.

Re:Sports, their first mistake

[bickerdyke]

Or TLDR: The NFL is run by idiots.

I wouldn't go that far, but it definitly is run by people who care more about product placement than football. Being run by idiots would not harm football to the extent that is doing to it.

Re:nobody remembers

[bickerdyke]

Honestly: You only remember "first man on the moon" because that was the only event in the space race that the US came out ahead (and the USSR haven't really tried)

First object in space? In orbit?
First living beings in space? returning safely? First human?
First woman in space? First EVA?
First unmanned landing on the moon? On Venus? On Mars?

So it's not only the first X and Y you remember, human nature tends to remember only the Xs and Ys that we were first in and not only ignores second X and second Y, but first A, first B, first C, first D and so on.

it's worse for technologies that are not a single, atomic (as in undividable) invention - depending on who you ask you will hear lots of different names as "The Father Of X". "Inventor" of the telephone? Marconi, Reiss, Bell, depending on who you're asking. Not even possible to agree on a single "first" here.

By the way: The wright brothers were by no way first in flight. Their "first flight" in 1903 is predated by at least 10 years by Otto Lilienthals who (according to Wikipedia) managed to log over 2000 flights before his death. And even his death in 1896 predates the Wrights flight. Without doubt the first maneuverable motorized flight was a HUGE achievement, but calling it "the first flight" is plain wrong.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Why with the surprise here?

[Chas]

And why are we stunned that a bunch of overpaid, undersocialized steroid-sozzled jock dopes can grasp anything other than their playbook?
And, especially, the commentators? They're all a bunch of football-heads. Computers are for fuckin' nerds man!

Everything's an iPad right?

Just like, down south, all cola is "A Coke".

That's a funny thing,

[pecosdave]

because I've been calling the new iPad Pro the Apple Surface Tablet.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[tompaulco]

I would bet that if the NFL had bought Surfaces intentionally with their own money they would remember what they are called. Maybe Microsoft shouldn't give people who have plenty of money free toys, and then teach them the value of a dollar instead.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[operagost]

Sorry, but your list is ridiculous. I don't live in my parents' basement, thus I must buy my own sport drinks, T.P., and iced tea. Everyone knows Charmin-- they have great marketing. There are also Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Marcal, Panda, and Scott. Lipton and Nestea are big brands here. Powerade is probably #2 to Gatorade. What's your point?

And the OS/2-Windows war had much bigger issues than OS/2's "awkward" name.

Chicago Bears quarterback

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> Chicago Bears quarterback called them "knockoff iPads"

To be fair, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is a "knockoff quarterback."

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Solandri]

I remember a post similar to this in the early 1990s, claiming we won the first Gulf War because we had Cruise missiles while Iraq had Scud missiles. Would Tom Cruise's career be where it is today if he had been named Tom Scud?