Bogusky vs. Jobs - Round One

I remember reading about a conversation that took place at some sort of posh Seattle country club in Scott Bedburry's A New Brand World.  It went something like this:
Steve Balmer: "Wieden & Kennedy never really got the soul of Microsoft."
Scott Bedburry: "That's funny, I didn't know Microsoft had a soul."
And therein lies the crux of all the hype regarding Microsoft's hiring of Crispin Porter & Bogusky.  As the old adage goes, great advertising only kills bad products faster.  If Crispin does great work, it could very well be the worst thing for Microsoft.  The fact that Crispin (at least that I know of) isn't confident enough in Microsoft's product to switch their creative staff to Windows machines, therefore creating one of the world's most fascinating marketing-ethnographies, speaks volumes.  Crispin has a soul - Alex Bogusky.  Apple has a soul - Steve Jobs.  MINI has a soul - the product, itself.  Whether it exists in its product or its founder, Microsoft doesn't have a soul.  And, unless Crispin somehow has a way to influence more than just image at Microsoft, I can't imagine any campaign truly working.  That said, I wouldn't be surprised come the launch of the new work, if Crispin completely and pleasantly surprised me.  It wouldn't be the first time they did.

Comments

[Ryan Price]

Did all of Robert Scoble's hard work not really make a dent? I guess since he's moved around so much since then, we know his game and most of us are annoyed by him now.

He showed us that there were humans inside Microsoft... a soul... that may be impossible.

OK, I agree with you.