from Shop Talk:
Unicorn + Clown = Surprise hit for Walmart
If the NFL playoff games weren't filled with enough unexpected action to keep you awake this past Sunday, something else was -- a screaming clown.
Walmart aired a new commercial during the games this weekend meant to promote its low prices on party supplies.
Good timing, considering millions of Americans are getting ready to host parties for the Feb. 7 Super Bowl game.
The Walmart ad, which features a misplaced unicorn and a screaming clown, has taken on a life of its own online. It now ranks as the No. 5 on the Viral Video Chart. It's quite a change from a few years ago, when the most action in a Walmart ad was an animated yellow happy face racing around its stores, slashing prices.
Take a look and tell us what you think:
Is PC the new black? Ask Microsoft
Look out nerdy-cool Apple guy, the empire is striking back. And it’s got Eva Longoria Parker, Tony Parker, Pharrell Williams and Deepak Chopra on its side.
Microsoft is launching (another) new commercial campaign Thursday night. It takes aim at Apple’s “Mac vs. PC” campaign that has portrayed personal computers running Windows as clunky and uncool.
The commercial starts with a real-life Windows engineer who looks eerily similar to John Hodgman (the comedian who plays the role of “PC” in Apple’s commercials), saying “I’m a PC and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” After that is a montage of celebs and normal folk, saying “I’m a PC.” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, along with the aforementioned celebrities, makes an appearance in the ad.
The new commercial is easier to understand than the first series of ads from Microsoft that featured comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Microsoft said the Seinfeld ads were meant to be an “ice breaker” and get people taking about the company and Windows. (Although it could be argued that there was already a conversation about Windows, just not the one the company wanted.)
Microsoft Senior Vice President Mich Matthews , who heads up the company’s marketing efforts, said the goal of the $300 million advertising push is to “take back the PC brand” and its new commercial is meant as a “bear hug” to the PC stereotype being defined by its competitors.
The television commercials will also be joined by billboard, online and newspaper ads pushing the theme of “Windows vs. Walls” — the concept that Windows allows for a life without walls.
Update: here is the ad.
…interesting that this “i’m a pc” ad was created by a Mac running Adobe Creative Suite 3. PC looks cool and hip with their ads, just as long as they get a little help from a Mac. Irony?
