McDonalds and Microsoft are Improving
A new series of McDonalds commercials shows two hipsters discussing McDonalds' new espresso. When the word "McDonalds" is uttered, the hipsters recoil, and then one admits that they like McDonalds. Then the other admits it too, and they riff about how they're tired of being pretentious, and head off to the nearest McDonalds franchise.
I think these ads are fantastic because they're at least partially realistic. In the last decade we've been treated to the "Isn't it hilarious how fanatical our fans are?" ad countless times, but they're never for brands that anyone feels that strongly about. Brands that really do get people crazy like Apple and Harley-Davidson don't run ads like those. So instead it's some Sprite commercial where a guy builds a spaceship out of Sprite bottles because he wants to Obey His Thirst ... in space.
But the McDonalds ad doesn't pretend people are fanatical, or even neutral. They openly admit that McDonalds isn't cool, however briefly, before continuing with their pitch. And allowing this little ray of reality to intrude on what ends up being a pretty generic new product pitch makes all the difference. By making a tiny bit of fun of their bad PR, they look clued in. This is something McDonalds some trouble with, and these ads address it well.
Microsoft?
I am a big time Apple and Microsoft watcher, so Ballmer's quote about Apple a few weeks ago gave me pause. Rather than continuing with the approach that made Microsoft, often referred to as the "ecosystem" strategy, Ballmer openly announced that they're moving away from it. In favor of Apple's "own everything" strategy. Because the ecosystem strategy doesn't work for fantastic user experience.
This is huge. It's like America saying capitalism isn't working well, so they're going to try communism. It's amazing that they're going to pivot to an approach they have always looked down on, and it's doubly amazing that Microsoft, who is traditionally more arrogant than Apple, is admitting the need to change.
It's huge enough that I'm a little scared for Apple and AAPL. There are two reasons that Apple has been able to differentiate itself in the last decade: owning the hardware and the software, and Microsoft's apparent refusal to admit that their strategy needs improvement, allowing Apple to get away with murder without a real response from Redmond.
Now that Microsoft has admitted it has a problem, they might start achieving great things again. Apple should be worried.
