Video: The New Windows Mobile advertisement is kind of strange
Microsoft has been absolutely hammered in the press this week over the introduction of its new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. And, I am afraid, the new ad campaign won't do too much to help things. — Am I missing something here?
Context & Ripple Effects
Windows Mobile 6.5 entered its launch week after a long buildup that included a February feature tour but also an early editorial critique of its shortcomings. A sharply negative review published days before launch intensified the pressure on Microsoft’s public case for the platform.
The advertisement adds a communications problem to that product reception: rather than clarifying why Windows Mobile 6.5 matters, it gives critics another visible part of the launch to challenge.
First-order effects
- Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 campaign must contend with criticism of both the operating system and the creative intended to present it, weakening its ability to reset the launch narrative.
Second-order effects
- Future Microsoft messaging for Windows Mobile faces a higher burden to demonstrate practical product value, because skeptical coverage has already framed the release around perceived shortcomings.
Third-order effects
- The episode points to a mobile-software market in which launch advertising cannot compensate for an experience that reviewers find unconvincing; product and positioning are judged together.
The trend: Mobile platform launches are becoming contests of product credibility as much as marketing reach, with weak messaging amplifying existing doubts about the software.