Ceci n’est pas une blog

Who is Lauren?

TechCrunch discovers Microsoft's Lauren.

Apples and Oranges

Finally a Microsoft spot I can get behind. I am a devoted Mac user since the beginning. I was even interviewed by CNN.com about it for their article on the 25th anniversary of the Macintosh launch. I have an iPod, an iPhone and if I could, I'd have a iBrain. It would certainly have a better UI than the one I was born with. On the other hand, like most of my kind, I am not a fan of Microsoft. Their ad agency, though, ROCKS. Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is responsible for some of the most innovative work in recent history for clients like Burger King, Volkswagen and Geek Squad. Look up "Whopper Freakout" on YouTube and witness some great shit.

By comparison, CP+B's first attempts at rebranding their new tech client were astonishingly unimpressive. Jerry Seinfeld bonding with Bill Gates over buying cheap shoes. Not funny, not appealing and not effective branding of anything other than geeky old men. Then there was the Mojave Experiment. Not sure how involved the agency was in the development of the concept, but they at least handled the commercials. Still yawning at this point. 

It's an interesting assignment. Microsoft competes with Apple, yet they make software only, whereas Apple makes soft and hardware. People who buy Apple products think in terms of the hardware they are choosing — not so much the operating system. What has made Apple so incredibly successful, to a large extent, is the the melding of the two to create and impeccable brand experience. Even their stores are a branded experience. So now Microsoft has employed CP+B to improve the Q rating of their PR-challenged OS, Vista. It's an interesting challenge because to sell the software, one must sell the hardware. The PC experience is not a cohesive brand in the Apple sense. When all is right in the world of personal computing, the operating system is invisible. It is the infrastructure that you can — and should — take for granted, not unlike the plumbing in your house. Having to sell what should be a behind-the-scenes automatic support system, means bringing consciousness to something that should just happen. 

On Friday, my colleague —a confessed Alex Bogusky groupie — sent me a link to the latest Microsoft commercial. Finally, I think they've got it. In spite of myself, I love this spot (partly because Lauren reminds me of girl crush Claire Fisher of Six Feet Under)! C,P+B is finally approaching the product as part of the larger experience, and they do it cleverly. I am wondering if HP chipped in. They get a shout out. If I were going to move to the land of the previously unhip, I would definitely look into those fab looking bright orange laptops.

Same Species?

Oliver playing with his new trucks on the floor of the foyer at Abercrombie and Fitch.

Shoe fly...Zappos.com

Recently, Fred Joyal, CEO of 1-800-DENTIST met with Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com and was blown away by their legendary corporate culture. Yesterday he went back with 9 of us to experience it for ourselves. What we saw was extraordinary. Here are their 10 core values that they live and breath.

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

What is perhaps most impressive about our experience was the myriad of ways these core values manifest. The elaborately cheerful minibus which awaited our arrival at LAS, the dance machine in the lobby, the shoe shine stand, the highly accessorized work spaces, the social events, the fact that over 150 employees tweet on the custom Zappos twitter site, the Zappos library from which anyone can take a copy of a number of marketing and customer service bibles, the urine color chart on the inside of each stall in the rest rooms, and about a million other small details all contribute to the outstanding customer experience. Zappos.com is perhaps one of the greatest dot com success stories. It's easy to see why.

View entire gallery of images

What are Zappos.com employees doing right now?