14 DAY TRIAL // What better way to revitalize the Windows brand than to go back in time all the way to the “good old” DOS days? The original steps of the new, reportedly $300 million-worth Windows marketing campaign managed to focus only in part on the Windows client itself, delivering instead a much broader approach also encompassing the Windows Mobile operating system and Windows Live, and not mentioning Vista at all. However, the latest initiative from Microsoft and ad agency Crispin, Porter and Bogusky, skips the entire current lineup of the Redmond company's software products and Cloud services, and takes an entirely new direction, namely softwear.
“This is softwear by Microsoft,” reads the message designed to tell the world the story behind the latest marketing move from the software giant. Under an “antique” floppy disk the company ads “a clothing line that taps the nostalgia of when PCs were just starting to change our lives. With retro logos, classic photos, and geek-chic iconography, these pictures showcase the DOS days of the software company that now connects over a billion people.”
On September 4, 2008, Microsoft kick started a new Windows marketing campaign designed to patch the Windows brand. Debuted with a couple of video ads featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft part-time Chairman Bill Gates, the campaign soon moved to stage two with slogans such as Life without Walls and I'm a PC video advertisements.
Next in “line” was a line of T-shits spread in two collections, in accordance with classic designs and Common's designs. For the new Microsoft softwear gear, the company has partnered with music artist Common, who also introduces the collections via the official website dedicated to the new initiative. Nothing will say geek-like T-shirts with the original Microsoft logo, or the DOS logo, or the mugshot of a young Bill Gates, which is already an integral part of the Redmond company's legacy.
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft will be able to “build” both software and softwear and turn itself into a geek fashion power house, or if the new endeavor will have the life span of a Windows Beta Build and nothing more. The new Microsoft softwear collections are planned to debut on December 15.
