Microsoft takes Vista advertising to YouTube

Windows Vista on YouTube

If you’ve been wondering where all the advertising for Windows Vista has disappeared to, look no further YouTube. Starting from last week, Microsoft has begun uploading a series of original short videos showcasing a combination of Windows Vista, Windows Live and Office 2007 experiences.

Unlike the $500 million heart-warming “Wow” campaign at the start of the year, this campaign focuses much more on functionality with realistic end-user scenarios and clear benefits on how using Windows Vista, Windows Live and Office can help get the job done. Perhaps this marks the beginning of the $300 million more Microsoft’s throwing into the Vista advertising pool.

The videos themselves are well-produced with scenarios most home users can associate with, such as making a panoramic photo. Instead of just talking about the benefits, it’s good they actually demo the products in-use from beginning to end to show how it can be done.

Unfortunately for Microsoft they’ve also left the floodgate wide open for ‘constructive criticism’. As usual, streams of Microsoft-bashers and users with Vista horror stories have taken it upon themselves to let the world know how much better the other operating systems are.

For example user ‘dasBaum1234’ wanted to share, “haha windows you suck so much. You faked everythibg from Mac OSX Tiger und you didnt get that right. YOU SUCK SOO MUCH!”. What dasBaum1234 doesn’t know is that Vista is not a person, and should not be referred to as “you”. However his argument is indisputable so it really doesn’t matter.

Sharing Slideshows

Managing multiple email accounts

Creating Panoramas

Video Calling

Emailing Photos

Sharing Photos on the Web

Sharing Memories

Staying In Touch

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53 insightful thoughts

  1. Hmm, they are really well done but they didn’t have anything to do with Windows Vista. All features and applications shown are also available for XP like Windows Live and Office 2007 and they are looking/working exactly the same. That is why I think Microsoft should integrate all Windows Live services into new versions of Vista’s apps instead of creating separate programs that are bloating the system.

  2. Where is my Live Calendar Desktop, Live Movie Maker, Live DVD Maker and Live “Vaporware” “Monaco”?? 🙁

  3. Two questions, how many pictures can you add to Live Spaces…

    And, i wish they’d add Hotmail support for Windows Mail.

  4. If MS integrated Windows Live, Windows Vista and Office 2007 System into a complete polished packaged (I will dub as iWindowsLife 08 – a stab at Apple’s iLife 08) and market it as professional as these ads then I’m sure they’ll get good PR from everyone.

  5. I agree with Mitchel Tyrell. Damn lawsuits.

    It’s sad that Microsoft is forced to make all these software packages standalone when they should be automatic updates to the existing packages in Vista. They should make them download with SP1! Oh… wait, theyll probably get cried at by Google.

  6. @mrmckeb sniffle sniffle WAAAAAAAHAHAHWAAAA!!!! Teacher, err DoJ!!!!! Microsft isn’t playing fair!!!! Microsoft’s doing better than me!!! Make him stop!!!

  7. So Microsoft isn’t allowed to built-in all these live products due to anti-trust. What about Apple’s OSX? I thought they have the whole iLife suite integrated without any lawsuit problem. Why can’t Microsoft?

  8. I’ve been waiting for adds that actually show people using the products and creating things. Showing people how to use your software is far more useful that useless adds with smiling stock photo people and fancy words swishing around.

    Most people are too afraid to explore all the features of their OS/software so if they could make more of them and show them on TV then make more detailed tutorial like videos and refer to the URL to view them in the adds it would be great.

  9. @Nam.
    Because Apple has not been the subject of a federal antitrust trial like Microsoft has. When you’re a monopoly, you have to play by different rules than everyone else. The Department of Justice for the moment still has Microsoft subject of oversight. The DoJ is trying to end it, but several states (and Google) believe MS should remain under oversight for a while longer.

    Most Linux distributions integrate an entire office suite and a fully featured graphics editor into their distribution. If Microsoft tries the same, Corel and Adobe will launch a complaint that Microsoft is abusing its monopoly.

  10. @Wes
    thx for clearing that up. Now i understand why ppl keep saying Mac just works and Windows is slow and crappie. Basically thx to these anti-trust things, Windows is always packed with a bunch of unknown softwares from vendor like HP, Sony, and Toshiba. Therefore, Windows is slow even from the fresh (I own a HP dv2600) while Mac has nothing but just Apple’s softwares. Poor MS.

  11. Why are they doing it on YouTube,? I mean it should be on MSN Video, u know Soapbox + Silverlight + whatever MS technology.

  12. i totally agree with “tong” this should have all been advertised on soapbox…
    and silverlight should have been used as well..

    ah well, M$ has done weirder and odder things in the past…

    HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL!!

    peas
    cityboy

  13. Youtube = largest population of Internet video viewers. Makes sense to MS to advertise to the largest population possible.

  14. Most of the comments appear like they’re written all by Linux/Mac fans. I mean you should see how high-ranked “Linux rocks!” “I’m getting a Mac” and “M$ sucks” comments are. And most of these so-called issues are stupid.

    Mainly a lot say these features have been in OS X for a LONG time. Ok? So? It’s not like Windows can’t have them? That’s it’s wrong to incorporate these features too? Where some actually do slightly better than their OS X couterparts?

    Silly fans. All it shows is YouTube containing a lot of immature users that need to get a life.

  15. Windows Vista Home Premuim is actually a great operating system. Windows Vista has great features and is one amazing OS. If I were to give Vista a rating our of 5, 1 would give 5 and a half. Most of those Microsoft bashers on Youtube have never even tried Vista and say it sucks. There probably going on websites like http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html and http://badvista.fsf.org/ which provide insane information. The media gets lots of attention by bashing Vista and Microsoft.

  16. About the ads: Those ads are actually pretty good ads that would convince anybody who’s not a Microsoft basher to buy Vista. I wish people would smarten up and use Vista before they critizize it. Vista runs well on my computer, in case you’re wondering what the specs are: Windows Vista Home Premuim, 2 GB, AMD Athlon 64 3800, Nvidia Geforce 6150 SE with a Windows Experience Rating of 3.O.

    Happy New Year to Long Zheng and everybody out there.

  17. @Brian Damage
    I noticed that too. It’d be to show that Mail also supports other web mail interfaces, not just Hotmail/Live. I think it’s a good thing.

  18. @fiji: Why should anybody buy Vista after seeing that? There is not a single feature of Vista shown in the ads (except for the last one that shows the new search in the Start menu). Don’t get me wrong, I really like Vista but why don’t they say that this is Windows Live only? And what about some ads that show the great features of Windows Vista?

  19. @tino
    I think it will encourage people to look at what Vista offers, but you are right. It shows nothing of Vista in comparison to what it offers. But it does show more than the search in the start menu, it also shows DVD making 😉

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  21. to be honest if i ever saw bill gates in the street i wud smash his little smug face in, i’m sick to death of their shitty software and their above the law attude. whats the anti-trust got to do with the quality of the software? what are you people even talking about? microsoft cut so many corners they are oval? they dont intergrate software so they can sell it all to you sepratly after forcing it on to you with their underhand tactics. Im sick of it restarting and crashing constantly. after having to re-install vista yet again, in just a week ive got malware messing up my system, out of nowhere. where is all this new “security”. Vista is just annoying and a constant headache to use and i am seriously sick of it. why do they force on people a web browser that doesnt comply with web standards making life extreamly hard for people who have to somtimes spend days fiddling with code to make sites work in ‘the worlds most used web browser’. constant battling with microsoft software just over the last to days as cost me £1500 loss, when i should be able to just sit at a computer and get on with the work, but no, its my livelyhood they are messing with just to fill their own pockets with more gold. Bill gates is a rapist, and hes raping the world for all he can get and I dont believe for second over using that word.

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