Microsoft, it's Everybody's Business is Good.

I have meant to talk about these ads for a while because I really like them. I enjoy them on a number of levels and I think that this campaign does what I think all ads do. Build a brand while communicating a message.

Why do I like these ads:

1. Featured companies. The companies choosen are a great selection of loved brands (Coca Cola, Nestle) and some more unique challenger brands such as Method, Quiksilver, and WestJet. Delivering a Microsoft message to the beat of a surfing CEO is not how the world perceives Microsoft. In my eyes these brands associations help to make the Microsoft brand a little more current and cool to a 14 - 18 year old, while delivering what is essentially a B2B message.
   
   
2. The visual style. Obviously inspired from the "I met the Walrus" interview video created by Josh Raskin and illustrator James Braithwaite this is not the look and feel one would expect from Microsoft. The visual narrative of the spots helps to effectively deliver the message, while making the spots "cool" and "hip". I also find I focus a lot more on the audio as I listen to see how the visually connect the art direction to the audio.
   
   
3. Talking about ideas, culture and making a difference. Microsoft used to be about powering the machine. These spots flip it so that it looks and sounds like Microsoft's technology and products don't just help the man eliminate jobs, increase reliance on technology but that their technology brings ideas to life, inspires, facilitates collaboration and are a friend to the creative class. Nice.