Express Yourself
I have interest in advertisements, kind of in a backwards psychological way. Like, I don’t care much about the intended effect on the viewer, but I am very interested in what the advertisement (especially the background music) says about the attitude of the company itself.
I feel this Windows 8 ad is especially meaty in this area:
First off, it’s a retread of an old song. I find Microsoft’s official quote about the ad to be informative:
“We selected music from up and coming bands. We didn’t want to use overly popular songs because we wanted to bring the viewer on a journey of discovery, both through the storytelling and the music that accompanies these stories. Sometimes, as in “Express Yourself,” by Labrinth we found a new take on a classic old song, much like the reinvention of Windows.”
Certainly, the lyrics hit their key-frames with “smile” and “express yourself.” Of course, he also says “awkward” when they’re moving about the Metro interface, and the song (even the excerpt!) is actually saying that he’s not that great, but that authenticity is what counts, or something like that.
Then you get to the goods for sale. The thing that hits me most here is the “brush sold separately” fine print. If you’re selling a product like this (I believe this thing intros at $1,200) for playroom usage, you have to be ready for the device to perform advertised functions out of the box. Where’s the energy, the passion, in this kind of marketing? You’re seeing the seams in the Windows 8 canvas: this app is not made by Microsoft, the paintbrush is not made by Microsoft, nor are these made by Sony, who makes the computer. I know “Mini Piano” isn’t an Apple product, but you also don’t see non-bundled accessories in that demo. In fact, their fine print says “available in iTunes Store.”
Plus the senselessness of what’s going on here. You’re using a high-dollar device to produce bad paintings with all the tortured skeuomorphism of paintbrushes on Gorilla Glass. Then, you don’t share them with Dad via some new messaging, or Facebook, or Twitter. You print the darn things and hang them on the wall, then take them off the wall and hold them upside down in front of the dadgum screen just to illustrate how awkward it all is. Dad doesn’t even seem impressed until she flips the paper over.
Is this a dig on Apple for having shaky printer support on the iPad? Where’s the hook? Do I go, “oh, good, I can avoid the fun and experience of finger paint but still have all the papers to hang?” I don’t get it.
Also, welcome back, me, it’s been a while.