Windows has only taken small strides to advertise Windows Vista in the past, but the “Mojave Experiment” marks a significant effort to market Windows Vista as a product that users should consider (and, for many, reconsider). The advertising campaign has already generated plenty of discussion, so let’s break it all down.

The Facts

Chris Flores of the Windows Vista Team Blog shared some facts about the “Mojave Experiment”:

• The focus group took place over three days in San Francisco and was conducted earlier this month.
• All participants were either Mac, Linux, or users of versions of Windows that came before Windows Vista. Respondents were chosen from the focus group organizer’s database, called at random, but then selected based on having a low perception of Vista (<5 rating on a scale of 1-10).
• The participants were given a demo by a trained retail salesperson - geared towards the experiences they seemed most interested in following a series of interviews. While the retail salesperson drove the demo, it was geared by the interests and direction of the participant.
• We did not use some geeked out or custom built PC. We used an HP Pavilion DV2500. It had 2GB of RAM and was running an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7500 @ 2.20GHz. The OS was a 32 bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate.
• Of the 120 respondents polled, on a scale of 1:10 where 10 was the highest rating, the average pre-rating for Windows Vista was 4.4. After they saw the demo, respondents rated Mojave an average of 8.5.

Finally, some people have asked if Mojave is the big marketing project we’re working on - it’s not. The Mojave Experiment is just that: an experiment we conducted on the fly that yielded interesting results. We’re publishing the video today because we think you’ll also find it interesting.

I would like to point out the fact that Chris has said that the “Mojave Experiment” is not the primary marketing project that has been allocated $300 million. If you were thinking that this was the $300 million at work, take a deep breath and relax.

What They’re Saying

Sarah Perez believes that Microsoft is learning from their mistakes:

The takeaway from this new campaign, and the $300 million plus one yet to be revealed, is that Microsoft is finally learning their lesson. And yes, there is a small portion of the community that will still rally behind their efforts. Believe it or not, the community as a whole doesn’t hate Vista. We just never loved it.

Harry McCracken thinks that the “Mojave Experiment” is clever, but he questions the users who were interviewed:

Mojave is a very clever conceit, and for some Vista skeptics, it’s probably effective. But…

The folks in Microsoft’s clips must be, by definition, casual computer users–more advanced types. even if they weren’t Vista users, would have been able to tell that “Mojave” was Vista. (Microsoft doesn’t say how it screened its Mojave subjects or whether its trickery was effective in every case–I wonder if any of the test subjects politely asked, “Why are you showing me Windows Vista and saying it’s something else?”) You can see in some of the clips that these people are not deeply into PCs: When one guy is told that Windows Media Center lets him watch TV for free, he looks dumbstruck.

Jason Chen questions if those users would feel the same way if they used Windows Vista on a daily basis:

What’s interesting about this experiment is that sure, people who don’t know anything/enough about Vista are kneejerking their way into hating it. These people are the ones that are easily convinced with a slight-of-hand that Vista is good. But what they didn’t show was the day-to-day usage of Vista, like accidentally installing an XP printer driver and not being able to print. Sure, we like Vista just fine, but this demographic that Microsoft has in its video would be just the kind to not really be tech savvy enough to fix the aforementioned printer problem.

Cyril Kowaliski believes that the numbers don’t add up:

Interestingly, many of the users in the videos seem to be aged over 30 and not exceedingly computer-literate. Perhaps that’s because Microsoft had a harder time fooling younger subjects: in one of the videos, a 20-something respondent comments, “I don’t know, there’s something fishy about this… ‘Cause if it was a new OS, it’d look a hell of a lot different in my opinion. I’m getting the feeling here that this is Vista.”

Paul Miller had to make mends with Engadget’s readership after appearing a bit biased:

We’re hearing you guys loud and clear in comments. We’ll admit, we hate senseless Microsoft / Vista bashing just as much as the next guy, and that’s not what this is about. The problem here is Microsoft basically filmed itself an infomercial (or “pulled a Pizza Hut,” as pointed out in comments) and is passing it off as some interesting experiment into FUD. If these users had been sent home for a week or so with a Vista machine — or better yet, a copy of Vista to install themselves — that’d be a whole different story, but they weren’t. There was no scientific method in play, no control experiment, nothing. They were shown a 10 minute demo. That’s it.

What I’m Saying

Do you remember those Burger King commercials where they took away the Whopper? How about the Tuscani pasta at Pizza Hut commercial? Perhaps you can recall those countless commercials where one brand of toilet paper is stronger than the other? Then again, maybe you’ve seen those commercials where people have lost a ton of weight with a single pill?

It is all the same! All forms of advertising serve the same purpose, so why should Microsoft be so heavily criticized for their efforts to promote Windows Vista?

Now, it is clearly obvious that some of these people had no idea what they are talking about. Some of the people in the commercials seemed completely legitimate, and others, not so much. However, it is to be expected from advertising methods of this kind. Therefore, I’m not going to knock Microsoft for what the people said.

If anything, I will criticize the lack of creativity and humor that these commercials have. When you experience one of the Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertisements, they rarely take the reality so seriously. They make fun of the situations that Microsoft seems to put themselves in. Many of the commercials are hilarious to me—I understand that quite a few of them are over the top, but they are, for the most part, true. It is primarily focused on irony, but it is well done.

Microsoft, on the other hand, should have made a better effort at incorporating humorous elements into these commercials. Some of the episodes are just too serious for my tastes. They are not really effective, in my opinion, because it has been done before. This is something you would expect to see on a commercial.

It is widely known throughout the marketing industry that humor works; I’m just shocked Microsoft didn’t make efforts to focus on this like Apple has.

The “Mojave Experiment” will probably prove to be a partial success. I don’t think it has any chance in convincing a respectable number Mac users to switch over to Windows Vista, but I think that XP users will be interested in the potential that Vista has. Microsoft should have focused on the security benefits in particular.

In the end though, Microsoft should not be surprised to see a majority of bloggers pouncing all over this attempt to market Windows. It wasn’t innovative, and, if anything, it was a mediocre attempt. Chances are high that it will be long forgotten within the next month or two.

Regardless, I can only hope Microsoft hasn’t put as much emphasis on seriousness in their $300 million Windows Vista marketing endeavors. Humor is widely embraced nowadays, and I want Microsoft to really entertain viewers with their advertising campaigns. The company should be talking to someone like Paul Thurrott, who excellently points out these types of incorrect perceptions. I want Microsoft to make these perceptions seem utterly ridiculous. I’m sure it can be done, but we will have to wait to see how Microsoft handles this complex task.