The only thing I learned from the commercial was that you could snap a magnetic type keyboard into it and that it came in different colors. Also, I needed to be wearing a suit or be a pissed-off looking schoolgirl to use this device.

The Dell commercials that are running now showing how it's better than an iPad are a model of clarity by comparison. I had absolutely no idea from the breakdancing commercials what the device was capable of.

I am not a big fan of TV but I have been a creative lead for a commercial series that won a Clio award, for what that's worth.

I'm not trying to defend the commercial, merely disagreeing that it's the worst ever.

I am not a big fan of TV but I have been a creative lead for a commercial series that won a Clio award, for what that's worth.

That's honestly really cool. I wouldn't have expected a lot of advertising people on HN.

Well it's not my main job, just came my way through working in film. But whether it's a commercial or movie or whatever, you can't help considering narratives from a technical standpoint.

And you're right, it's not the worst commercial ever. But considering teh staekes I thought it was pretty bad, and surprising considering how good MS marketing usually.

>products don't become bad just because they're advertised poorly.

Agreed, but bad advertising can definitely stop a great product from selling. Good advertising, on the other hand, can help a bad product sell. Just look at how much revenue the original Blair Witch Project generated. Microsoft created a mediocre product with the Surface RT. In a market crowded with absolutely excellent devices, there is simply no room left for mediocrity.

Furthermore, Microsoft didn't only fail to illustrate the few redeeming qualities of the Surface to consumers, it didn't even begin to try. A commercial is supposed to be a form of communication between the company and its potential customers. A commercial that doesn't communicate the product's value to it's potential customers is a waste of time and money.

>Either you watch a staggeringly small amount of television, or this is hyperbole.

I admit, it's a little of both.

I've got to concur with him about the commercial.

It does nothing to explain what the product is, let alone why you'd want one. It doesn't offer any abstract brand associations for people to connect to Microsoft. It's just a short video of bunch of people dancing frenetically around a courtyard, and if you blink, you could miss that it's got anything to do with MS at all.

The only thing it seems to actually tell you about the product, if you're paying very close attention, is that there's a flip-up stand built into the back of it. They were using that stand clicking into place as the source of the percussion for the music track. That's it - if you pay close attention and consciously look for the product they're selling, you discover that it's a commercial for a plastic stand.

Are you kidding? In an over-crowded market for computing devices, products sell bad precisely because of bad marketing. If you can't differentiate, you are as good as dead.