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Blog: the brains behind Microsoft's new ad campaign

“Hello, I’m a PC and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”

So begins Microsoft’s ambitious but risky new advert, part of a $300 million campaign that will embrace the derisive "I’m a PC" label slapped upon its image by its smaller rival, Apple.

The commercials, which will started airing in the US today and will be seen in the UK later in the year, are part of the next phase of the software giant’s campaign to revive its tarnished brand. They follow the quirky teaser ads featuring Microsoft founder Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld discussing shoes and whether computers will be edible in the future.

The Seinfeld ads, which started airing just two weeks ago, have received a mixed response. The comedian will not be featuring in the next phase of the campaign.

Instead, Microsoft’s new adverts that will feature a brown-suited company engineer who resembles John Hodgman, the comedian who plays the unfashionable PC character in the “PC vs Mac” ads. Other adverts will include cameo appreances from Mr Gates, as well as celebrities like Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria, hip-hop star Pharrell Williams and the author Deepak Chopra.

But the stars of the new shorts are intended to be everyday PC users, such as scientists and teachers, who express pride that their computers use Microsoft software.

A Microsoft spokesperson said that Microsoft was launching its "largest consumer focused marketing campaign in its history" that it hopes "will engage consumers about the broader value of the Windows brand."

The strategy is to take on Apple’s attack on the Microsoft brand, and turn it into a positive. The US agency behind the campaign, Crispin Porter & Bogusky, is known for its off-beat humour, and has been credited with helping to boost the fortunes of Volkswagen and Burger King in the past with irreverant campaigns that have proved successful.

However, some risks that the agency has taken in the past have not paid off, including a campaign for the search engine Ask, which attempted to make fun of the word “algorithm” based on the assumption that most people would not know what it meant. Industry insiders at the time said the ads instead helped Ask’s biggest rival, Google.

“Depending on whether you like the dry Seinfeld humour, I think those ads were very good, but they weren’t getting a very good reaction,” said Leon Jaume, executive creative director of WCRS, the agency behind the 118-118 adverts featuring two moustachioed twins dressed as 1970s athletes.

He added: “It staggers me to hear that they’re doing something else, which is potentially a bit confusing. It's brave to go with the guy from the “I’m a Mac campaign."

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