Microsoft goes for it! First, Windows 8 splash ; then Surface tablet ad delights
Hot on the heels of its first Windows 8 spot on Sunday night, Microsoft yesterday aired the first TV ads for its soon-to-be-released tablet, Surface.
Expected to spend up to $1.5 billion to market Windows 8 globally, Microsoft is also shelling out big-time to make its tablet a success.
Ads for Surface appeared in the US during ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," NBC's drama "Revolution" and TNT's "Major Crimes" amongst other shows.
AdAge pointed out that Microsoft wasn't saying who made who made the Surface ads - other than making it clear it wasn't Crispin Porter & Bogusky, who are behind its Windows 8 and Windows Phone campaigns.
"Because Surface was a highly confidential project, we took a nontraditional approach with the ad campaign, and worked with a small team of a wide range of creative resources to come up with the campaign," Microsoft said in a statement. Later John M Chu tweeted that he was the director.
The delightful minute-long ad emphasises the sleekness of the Surface tablet. Twenty-somethings dance around with it, snapping its two pieces into place rhythmically on what looks like a university campus.
Microsoft appears to be going after consumers who place a high premium on product design by playing up Surface's magnetic snap-on keyboard, said AdAge - the main thing that makes it different from the iPad..