More Bing For Your Buck: Microsoft Searches For The Right Ad Campaign
by Peter Kafka
Posted on June 5, 2009 at 3:00 AM PT
You say you’re not convinced by the first TV spot for Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine? Then feast your eyes on these puppies, which AdAge says were supposed to run later this summer but have been moved up because Team Redmond “realized that the market would be receptive to our product messages sooner than expected.”
I think these clips are reasonably good at getting across the notion that regular search engines — that’d be Google (GOOG) and Yahoo (YHOO) — aren’t as good as they could be. But again, I’ll let you folks handle the ad critique. I remain dubious about the overall strategy, which involves spending up to $100 million to promote a Web service.
Comments
I think they’re very good ads. They’re funny and,in a back-handed way, points out the deficiendies of search today which, by extension, is a criticis of Google. Even if Bing doesn’t offer clearly superior results, Microsoft has the potential to grab share because people may start to question whether they’re getting the right best results from their current provider (Google, most likely). I also think that Microsoft is at their best when they use humor. It makes the company seem more human.
Posted by Mark Ashton at June 5th, 2009 at 8:53 amThe ads seem to be saying that search engines return TOO MUCH data and that the new Bing will only show you what you are looking for. Quite an impossible task I would say.
My first Bing comparison with Google, a search for the term “windows” (lowercase):
Both engines return, not surprisingly, references to some obscure computer operating system (now who’s fault is that?)
Both engines on the other hand produce ADS for places to buy home improvement hardware.
Only Google though also provides non-ad links to places like Anderson Windows in the first page. Google also provides (on the first page) links to programs that run on Windows, (Gimp, VLC, Acrobat, DivX).
Seems FAR more likely, by taking a broader view to what the word “windows” means the Google page returns better results, allowing the “artificial intelligence” of my brain to quickly do the rest. With the Bing results (which produces longer pages that must be scrolled) I still don’t find Anderson Windows until I get to the second logical page. I suspect this issue will be repeated with many terms that can have several disjoint meanings as I doubt Microsoft is going into the home improvement business too.
Some software vendors may be disappointed that they don’t start showing up in association with Windows until page 10 of the Bing results. Some things never change.
Posted by Mac Beach at June 5th, 2009 at 12:48 pmPS: I forgot to add that Google provides a map with locations of local windows (home improvement variety) dealers on the very first page.
Bing provides no such map as far as I got tired of clicking (past page 10).
Both engines DO provide pictures of a rodent when you search for “mouse” and both point to the Wikipedia article on the rodent, rather than the pointing device. It is good to know that our language hasn’t been entirely corrupted by modern overloading of common terms.
Posted by Mac Beach at June 5th, 2009 at 12:57 pmThey’re very good ads, Microsoft seem more human.
Posted by Ubaldo Lai at June 5th, 2009 at 10:55 pm