Research in Motion, the maker of the amazing blackberry, looks like a good acquisition candidate for MSFT after their failed takeover of Yahoo!.

With RIMs shares hovering around the $60 mark, Microsoft is rumored to be looking for RIM to tumble further before taking action. Said Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, “RIM is a massive strategic fit for Microsoft.

Blackberry + Microsoft > Apple + iPhone

Microsoft has been struggling to find a revolution of their mobile OS with Google stepping in with Android, and Apple hot on Microsoft’s heels with the iPhone.

The Blackberry is very popular among business users and would make a great addition to the MSFT lineup.

Whether or not Microsoft keeps RIMM and their operating system and user environment is one thing, and I advise they do, but building in further features to integrate Blackberry and Windows would be a step in the right direction for Microsoft.

What do you think? Would this be a good acquisition?

With Apple’s ads, their genius really is in portraying reality. There are tons of these dorky IT guys running around loving up Microsoft and flaunting their MCSE degrees for all to see, that Apple steps right in and makes the perfect jab at them, and this commercial is just more great free publicity for Apple.

Microsoft, Seinfeld Was The Answer

This isn’t to say that the Apple cool dude is actually someone to be admired, but the PC guy is just so damn laughable it’s great, and that’s why these new Microsoft non-Seinfeld ads blow.

This Sean Siler, reminds me of that SNL skit, your IT tech guy or whatever it was called. Similarities? I think yes.

By the way, even Nick Burns is working on Macs here …

The Seinfeld/Microsoft ads had artistic flair, something that kept you wondering, or at least confused. You thought, maybe Microsoft has a secret behind all this madness, this genius plan that is going to make me love them or at least not hate them as much.

These New Commercials Sucks

What makes the Mac ads great are a couple of points: the humor, the truth, and the nice little jabs.

The Humor

John Hodgman is a lovable PC character, and there are definitely ‘PCs’ like him all over the globe, just hop into your IT department and you can find one. Seinfeld brought this quirky humor, these new commercials just make you feel like you’re watching an insurance commercial, “you’re not a number, blah blah..”

The Truth

Windows Vista really does suck. Perhaps these new commercials, showcasing normal people, are most likely using XP. The group in Africa? Think they can power Vista machines? I think not.

Windows does have their operating system everywhere, but that doesn’t make ME want to use it. Think about it, do you want to know that Microsoft can be used for EVERY case on Earth, or do you want to know that it can handle your pictures, music, etc. — the stuff that people care about.

Jokes Are Funny

Nothing about these new ads are funny. They’re obviously a direct, pathetic, response to Apple’s commercials.

Why not continue to poke fun at yourself, which I think Microsoft thinks they’re doing with these new commercials.

Please Send Me Your $300 Million Next Time

For the next huge waste of money, Microsoft, please don’t hire another nerd Scoble to sell your product or pull the plug on Crispin early, why don’t you invest that $300 million into making your damn software better so I don’t have to pirate it, and actually consider buying it.

Here are the 3 commercials:

Microsoft and Ronald Don’t Mix

Why Microsoft, are you releasing such an anemic Zune offering? This thing has no browser, it’s impossible to browse the Internet, it has no touch-screen (which should be a good thing), and every ad you put out makes the Zune look even worse.

Why don’t you spend more time porting Windows XP onto a mobile device, it will be more stable, and will have endless amounts of 3rd-party developers already built-in. I love to run Windows 98 games to relive my childhood, why not cut out the MIME emulator and do it yourself.

I didn’t see this latest edition of the commercial on TV, as I’ve been catching up on TIVO, I did get the privilege of watching this newest edition this morning, and after 4 minutes and 30 seconds, I felt like I was watching a skit of Seinfeld.

Good writing is amazingly contagious and I almost feel like Larry David had something to do with writing this commercial or perhaps it was Seinfeld’s influence.

Seinfeld Still Has It

Despite my original thoughts that Seinfeld was washed up and just coming out of retirement do to Bee Movie and now this, I didn’t expect a very good performance from him.

Boy was I wrong, after watching this clip I really wish he could get the gang back together and start doing more Seinfelds. There really isn’t any show that lives up to it right now, minus maybe Curb Your Enthusiasm, but even with Curb, you enjoy it only because you loathe Larry and his antics so much.

Seinfeld had great characters, a lovable cast, and amazing writing. Bravo Crispin-Porter, on a job …done.

Instead, this commercial went on for about 90 seconds, at first I was wondering if it was going to be integrated back into the football game somehow, sort of like an on-air promotion, but it didn’t.

My immediate reaction after seeing the commercial was a bit of disappointment. Crispin Porter and Bogusky could have done a lot better.

Like Meatloaf, Best Served as Leftovers

But after watching the commercial again this morning, I had a different take on the commercial. First, I knew to expect it to be 90 seconds long, so I wasn’t jaded that the commercial had possibly cut into my football watching experience. Secondly, I had a realization about the commercial; Bill Gates isn’t that bad of a guy. He’s this nerd, with his stupid clown card that wears ‘pleather’ shoes.

He’s not the mad scientist, evil nerd lord trying to make everyone’s lives miserably with crappy blue screens and obnoxiously expensive office software. He’s human, Microsoft is human.

1. To Err Is To Be Microsoft

Microsoft knows better than anyone that sometimes their operating system can be prone to hiccups and blue screens and grey screens and all sorts of different screen colors. Unfortunately, their public image, currently, appears to be John Hodgman trying to cover up for those mistakes by selling potporri or silly soaps. This is obviously intentionally done by Apple, however, the commercials have such a strong effect on the Microsoft brand that Microsoft needs to enact a ‘hearts and minds’ campaign to win back the populous.

With this commercial, and this series, Microsoft will be showing the human side of their company. Their founder is a dorky nerd that works really hard to make people’s lives better. He doesn’t live in a castle, isn’t disconnected from users, and wears crappy pleather shoes. In reality, he really is a big dork, which is why CP&B went with this campaign.

Showing the lighter side of Microsoft isn’t going to fix any Vista computers, but it will make people feel more connected to the Microsoft brand. As a Mac user, whenever something doesn’t work on a Mac, I blame Microsoft, when obviously it’s Apple’s fault. Brand loyalty is extremely powerful, and this is exactly what we’re seeing the beginnings of.

2. If You Say, ‘Where’s the Microsoft?’ You’re Missing the Boat COMPLETELY!

You see really quickly how the tech world can get so wrapped up in their little bubble and miss the point completely when it comes to the mass populous.

People have a really short attention span, and the same reason politicians can flip-flop on issues so easily is that nobody can remember anything or cares to remember past 30 minutes ago.

Further highlighting the emphasis on the goal of this campaign is this email sent by Bill Veghte, Senior VP at Microsoft this morning:

[the first phase] is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows – a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity.”

In Geico ads, where’s the insurance? Exactly. Nobody cares about the message as long as you enjoy the short little blurb with the cavemen whining about this or that.

This isn’t to say that you’re supposed to enjoy the Microsoft ad, but rather the goal is much simpler. You’re simply supposed to see that Microsoft, and Bill Gates, is a nice, likable little nerd. Jerry Seinfeld, I believe is more a muse than anything, trying to show that Gates is someone you can relate to.

3. We’re Talking About It Right Now!

Looking back at the Volkswagon ads from the 60s highlighted in my piece on lessons from Mad Men yesterday, we can see how divisive good, new advertising can be.

The account execs at Stanley Cooper (& Draper) sat around a room for 15 minutes discussing the pros and cons on the ad, and how it won’t work, and how unfunny it is and a myriad of other points, all of which lead back to the general conclusion that we are talking about it, so it must be doing something right.

This new ad for Microsoft is such a departure from their crappy, stupid flashing lights and cool people having a lot of fun that it’s jolting for us to see it. Prior to this advertisement, the public’s perception of Microsoft had been created around their antitrust cases in Europe, their spyware, their malware, the overhype of Vista, and their crappy ads.

This ad doesn’t evoke any negative criticism for Microsoft, and generally leaves a calming effect on viewers, and I think this quote from Sarah Perez, summarizing her thoughts on the aftermath of the commercial tells it best:

There won’t be any backlash with this Microsoft ad, though – no matter which side of the fence you’re on

For Microsoft, this is a victory.

Crispin Porter & Bogusky: Hire Me, Please?

It takes a lot of guts to create an ad campaign as jarring as this Seinfeld pitch, and that’s really what makes CP&B so great. They’re willing to take these great risks, take all the negative feedback, and then revel in their victory soon after.

So what do you think of the commercial? Good, bad? Let us know in the comments.

2 years later which video do you think is better?

Intel

Microsoft

Although I wish this was a parody, it is not, but simply Microsoft’s acknowledgment that their Mac customers have different preferences and tastes in packaging and presentation.

Why this doesn’t also apply to their PC users is another question, although I can sort of see the appeal of the Microsoft version, say for people who like to overclock their PCs and love to list the reason their PC/Nokia are FAR superior to any Apple product.

Let us know in the comments any ridiculous decisions your company is making…

Story original reported by Valleywag Hardware

And here’s a classic video I found that made me fall in love with the idea of a UMPC — back when the Zune still had a chance, and the iPhone could have simply been just a ‘Video iPod’:

Video: Bill Gates Last Day CES Clip