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It's funny. Laugh. Microsoft IT

Microsoft Spending $120M To Look Smaller 158

Posted by CmdrTaco from the someone-alert-alanis dept.
Ant writes "Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Microsoft Corp. will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as "a huge American company." That sound you heard while reading the article is my head exploding.
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Microsoft Spending $120M To Look Smaller More

Microsoft Spending $120M To Look Smaller

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  • Microsoft - small? (Score:5, Funny)

    by SimonInOz ( 579741 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:43PM (#14544383)
    Obviously it's time for the obligatory Belinda joke ...

    Wedding night ....

    "Oh, so that's why they call it Microsoft".

    Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

  • Small? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by chris_mahan ( 256577 ) <chris.mahan@gmail.com> on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:43PM (#14544392) Homepage
    So I can go to my IT manager and say: We can't rely on Microsoft being here long-term, they're such a small company...

    Oh wait, it's just for OUTSIDE the US.

    What do they think? That the foreigners are easy to fool?

    In any case, anything Microsoft does to burn its cash uselessly has got to be good, somehow.

    • Re:Small? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by ScriptedReplay ( 908196 )
      Oh wait, it's just for OUTSIDE the US.

      What do they think? That the foreigners are easy to fool?

      Judging from TFA, the title was misleading. They want to change the "huge American company" image, but with a "huge global company" - hence those whose perception has to be ... umm ... improved are outside the US. It's hard to see how showing off international programs would peg MS as a smaller company.

    • Next ad campaign: Hardship for Bill Gates. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Futurepower(R) ( 558542 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @11:00PM (#14545960) Homepage
      The next ad campaign will try to get you to believe that Bill Gates is poor. There will be an address to which you can send donations. I, for one, will not be donating, however.
    • Oh wait, it's just for OUTSIDE the US.
      Did you RTFA?
      The ads have started to air in some U.S. regions and will appear in all target markets in coming weeks
      Do Americans not like their own huge corporations or what?
    • "In any case, anything Microsoft does to burn its cash uselessly has got to be good, somehow."

      It is still $150mill in advertising. I think you are a fool to say that advertising is just uselessly burning cash. You might not like the theme of the commercials, but it does make sense. The US isn't popular in many places in the World, and right now MS is seen as a big US company. Helping them helps the US.

      "What do they think? That the foreigners are easy to fool?"

      Anyone in the advertising industry knows

  • Oh brother (Score:5, Funny)

    by PagosaSam ( 884523 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:43PM (#14544393)
    Why don't they just spend $48 Billion and make it true!

  • Been there, done that (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:45PM (#14544399)
    Doesn't sound much different from what Wal-Mart has been trying to do in recent years. And Microsoft actually looks small compared to them.
    • Doesn't sound much different from what Wal-Mart has been trying to do in recent years. And Microsoft actually looks small compared to them.

      Both companies have market capitalizations of about $250 billion. Walmart [64.233.179.104], Microsoft [investopedia.com]. The microsoft article also shows that IBM has a market capitalization of about $60 billion. Realize, however, that market capitalization is only a measure of estimated company earning power not actual worth. People have insane expectations for Microsoft's continued earning power in

  • In other news, (Score:5, Funny)

    by jb.hl.com ( 782137 ) <joe@@@joe-baldwin...net> on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:46PM (#14544408) Homepage Journal
    US announces to world that it wishes to be seen a small Eastern Bloc country from now on, and will so give the impression of financial hardship and military weakness from now on.
    • In Soviet United States, small makes... Oh, I'm just all too confused now.
    • that's inbetween invasions right ?

    • Re:In other news, (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Guppy06 ( 410832 )
      Why not? We're already approaching the civil rights record of Eastern Bloc countries.

  • Slashdot 2007 (Score:5, Funny)

    by glamslam ( 535995 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:46PM (#14544414)
    damn slashdot... What is "Microsoft"... Please provide some background in the article summary!

  • This is only possible in the US. Err... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:47PM (#14544417)
    Only an American company would spend this much to not look American.

  • Incredible (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Verteiron ( 224042 )
    This is a company with more employees than most cities have citizens, and they're trying to make people believe they're small. I wonder whose brilliant idea that was, and how long they'll remain employed at their current post...

    • Re:Incredible (Score:4, Informative)

      by Karma Farmer ( 595141 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:52PM (#14544473)
      This is a company with more employees than most cities have citizens,

      Ummm... no. Microsoft has something like 50,000 employees. That won't even fill many major sports arenas and concert venues. Unless you live in Wyoming, it really doesn't compare to the population of a "real" city.
      • Yes, 50,000 'employees'.... emphasis on 'employees'. This does NOT take into consideration the vast army of temps that they keep employed on rotating 6 month contracts so they don't have to bring them on full time (which easily doubles the number of ACTUAL employees), the overseas contractors and agencies that they outsource work to such as customer service, nor the multitude of 'leech companies' that suckle at their dark mothers teet.

        Up here in the greater Seattle area, several cities have gone from being
      • Microsoft has something like 50,000 employees. That won't even fill many major sports arenas and concert venues. Unless you live in Wyoming, it really doesn't compare to the population of a "real" city.

        50,000 people would actually fill several large concert venues. They tend to seat 10 - 20 thousand.

      • Re:Incredible (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Elminst ( 53259 )
        According to the US Census list of the top 100 largest cities; #100 is Arlington CDP, VA, with a population of 170,936. http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentatio n /twps0027.html [census.gov]

        According to a September BusinessWeek Article, MS has ~60000 employees.
        This company is 1/3 the size of the 100th largest city in the country.
        Microsoft also has more people than 70% of the counties in the US. The average county population is ~90000, microsoft is 2/3 of that.

        According to Forbes, MS is the 47th largest company
      • Nice try.
      • Microsoft has something like 50,000 employees. That won't even fill many major sports arenas and concert venues.

        However, probably for the sake of convenience, Microsoft does hold company meetings in major sports arenas [microsoft.com] from time to time.

  • That much? (Score:4, Funny)

    by abscissa ( 136568 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:48PM (#14544431)
    Pardon me, but anyone or anything who spends $120-million a year on something does not come accross as a "mom and pop" operation.

    • Re:That much? (Score:2, Funny)

      by sdnoob ( 917382 )
      they should use some small-town hick television station or ad agency instead of some slick big city operation... no better way to "look" like a mom-and-pop joint than to have their ads look like one did the ad.

      if you've never watched small-town television you won't know what i mean.. but small town commercials on tv are just awful. a six-year-old with a handicam can run circles around some of those schmucks.

      maybe they should change their name to "unca' bill's software shack"

  • So... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nizo ( 81281 ) * on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:48PM (#14544435) Homepage Journal
    Was that really loud splashing sound made by all of America's PR firms wetting themselves at once?
  • Microsoft is smaller than Dell, about half the size of HP or IBM, and about a tenth of the size of WalMart.

    Steve Jobs only purpose on earth is to draw attention from Bill Gate's own stupendous reality distortion field.

  • After Vista (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dynotrick ( 947014 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:49PM (#14544448)
    Hopfully they will live up to their ads

  • No! Don't you see? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bazzalisk ( 869812 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @06:50PM (#14544454) Homepage
    They aren't trying to appear small, they're just trying not to appear American.

    Microsoft, that large Canadian company :)

  • It's not like they've got 110,000 employees or anything...

  • MSN (Score:3, Insightful)

    by immorak ( 904819 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @07:00PM (#14544547) Homepage
    Microsoft is always at the end of every computer joke or bad comment. They need to do something.
    • True. However, flaunting their stupendous cash reserves by spending $120 million a year in a vain attempt to "look smaller" isn't going to do anything but give people ammunition.

      Aside from Wal-Mart, the MPAA/RIAA (and IBM, but only really to techies), Microsoft is practically synonymous with big business. News stories about them spending huge multiples of what the average person earns in a lifetime, every year, to try to give the opposite impression... well, it isn't really going to work...
    • Microsoft is always at the end of every computer joke

      Please note that the M of MSN is at the beginning. This shows that sometimes Microsoft is at the beginning of a joke.

  • So MS got the Temp to dream up another PR campaign to burn up some money for them? I mean, I don't see who they are going to convince with this, nor what they have to gain by doing it. Personally I either want my computing needs served either by guys like me doing it for the sheer fun and love of it, or by some large corp that needs customers (y'know, for profits...). And even at that, I'd take the like-minded community any day.

    Still, I guess a little disinformation^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H marketing never hurt an

  • ...and end up looking about $120 million smaller.
  • They are spending over a $100 million to make themselves look smaller. Would that be like putting a tent over an elephant to make it look smaller? I mean really using a large amount of money to appear to be smaller. . .

  • Article Text (Score:5, Funny)

    by k4_pacific ( 736911 ) <k4_pacific@yahoo . c om> on Monday January 23, 2006 @07:20PM (#14544727) Homepage Journal
    REDMOND, WA (Hydraulic Press) - Steve Ballmer, who possess the world's largest ego, will spend $120 million a year on an ad campaign to fight his image as "a huge blowhard".

    The campaign, using subway posters, blogs, and airplane banners, will portray Ballmer engaging in everday, blue collar activities like drinking with his buddies, bowling, playing softball, and doing the laundry. Pleasantville actor William H. Macy has been hired to portray Steve Ballmer's best friend.

    "A lot of people see me as some kind of rage-filled bully. And I'm not like that," Ballmer said while emphatically pounding his desk.

    "I took the job because Steve said he would 'fucking kill' me if I didn't. I knew he meant business when he threw a chair at me," said Macy in an interview.

    In one ad, Ballmer bowls a strike, then turns around and high-fives Macy. He then proceeds to scream and and dance himself into a sweaty frenzy with blood vessels popping out of his reddened forehead, finally calming down enough to hoarsely shout, "I love bowling! Yeah!"

    Reactions to the ads have been mixed. Many have commented that Macy seems in danger of being crushed by Ballmer, and that Ballmer's jokes come off as threatening and unfunny. The ads have been showing in select US markets, and are expected to go national in time for Windows Vista, the next version of Microsoft Windows, to ship.

    • REDMOND, WA (Hydraulic Press) - Steve Ballmer, who possess the world's largest ego CUPERTINO, CA - Steve Jobs, who challenges that assertion, ...
      • REDMOND, WA (Hydraulic Press) - Steve Ballmer, who possess the world's largest ego

        CUPERTINO, CA - Steve Jobs, who challenges that assertion, ...

        NEW YORK - Today Lorne Micheals issued a press release ...

  • Well, you know ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by daviddennis ( 10926 ) <david@amazing.com> on Monday January 23, 2006 @07:29PM (#14544790) Homepage
    if you have "educational and development projects in 32 countries", doesn't that pretty much prove you're big?

    D

  • Microsoft Spending $120M To Look Less American (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The article title is misleading in focusing on the word "huge" instead of "American."

    From the original news story:


    The campaign, using television, print and the Internet, highlights Microsoft's education and economic development projects in 32 countries, including France and Taiwan, according to group advertising manager Mike Lucero.

    "We are often perceived as a huge American company," Lucero said Friday in an interview.

    "We wanted to be very specific about what we are doing in each cou
  • From The Fine Article:
    "That was a global campaign in the traditional sense, with half a dozen ads pretty much the same in different countries," Lucero said. "We had to get very local."


    Showing the same thing in different countries is "getting local"? Eh?

    *head explodes*
  • i just bought some pills to make me appear 'massive and girthy' for only 129.95

    suckers

  • Isn't that what Kirstie Alley is spending to look smaller too???
  • Probably they hired a good PR experts that find out (after spending few hundrets K bugs) that people tend te be scared by extra large companies.

    Who wants to buy a candy from Beelzebub?
  • Microsoft Corp. will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as "a huge American company."

    Because they aren't just an American company. They are a huge company in every country they are in. :)

  • Oblig. Dilbert Reference (Score:4, Funny)

    by R3d M3rcury ( 871886 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @07:52PM (#14544946) Journal
    The Bad News: There's no way we can compete with smaller and nimbler companies.
    The Good News: At the rate we're going, we're going to smaller than any of them!

  • Either that or you guys can't read... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rbarreira ( 836272 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @07:56PM (#14544985) Homepage
    "Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Microsoft Corp. will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as "a huge American company." That sound you heard while reading the article is my head exploding.

    Either that or you guys just can't read. Clearly what the article says is just that Microsoft will advertise in other countries with the objective of seeming more like an international company...

  • Incorrect Title, RTFA please (Score:5, Informative)

    by Sean0michael ( 923458 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @08:06PM (#14545064)
    The article isn't about Microsoft trying to look smaller. It is about microsoft looking less American-centered. Since 1/3 of its business comes from outside the US, it only makes sense to start looking like Microsoft cares about each country that it sells in. It wants people to believe it cares about issues facing each country and region, not just American consumers far far away.

    Kudos to those who have posted similar replies. Hopefully people will read these enough to get the message. Or perhaps this just proves that most of the /. community would rather read what they want than what is on the page.

    • To be fair, TFA only says what the summary says - that they're going to fight their image as a huge american company.

      I mean the ads are are airing in the US right now. Are MS really going to try and appear less american to a US audience? Makss about as much sense as trying to portray themselves as smaller, I suppose...

    • 1/3 of its business comes from outside the US

      Just one third? That's the EU, Japan, Canada... What's going on? Do American businesses upgrade more frequently? Do European servers all run that commie OS from Finland?

      If the Rest of the World only adds up to half of what Microsoft makes from Americans, then surely their monopoly in most places isn't worth a hill of beans. That's not what I'm seeing.

    • As somebody who works for Microsoft (permatemp), I can say that it is NOT American-centered, at least in terms of their workforce. I work at the main campus in Redmond, and I would say that 30% of the workforce here is imported from somewhere, with most coming from Russia or India, but still a fair number from Pakistan, Turkey, China and Korea.

      All they'd have to do to appear less American-centered is take a camera and walk down a hallway showing the names on peoples' office doors. Of course, a few commercia

  • First change... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by krbvroc1 ( 725200 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @08:09PM (#14545085)
    The first thing they could change would be to offer free tech support to their customers. They could 'act' like a small company. Of course the article said 'look' like a small company, not act, so never mind.
  • Now Steve Ballmer just needs to get his temper under control

  • It's a replacement campaign (Score:5, Funny)

    by NorbrookC ( 674063 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @08:46PM (#14545310) Journal

    I guess everyone missed the news a month ago:

    Redmond WA (AP) Microsoft announced that it would drop its current overseas advertising slogan "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." after a successful trademark infringement suit filed by The Borg, who claimed that Microsoft's use of their trademarked phrase was ruining their brand, and subjecting them to ridicule by interstellar civilizations.

    • drop its current overseas advertising slogan "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." after a successful trademark infringement suit filed by The Borg

      It will be replaced by, "You are our passion, Let us help you reach your potential," which means the same thing but the Borg forgot to trademark it.

      An impressed human Borg lawyer said, "Microsoft lawyers have taken trade mark, copyright and patent law to the next level. We can't wait to add them to the collective. In trademark they claim entire co

  • hypocrisy (Score:3, Interesting)

    by semiotec ( 948062 ) on Monday January 23, 2006 @09:04PM (#14545405)
    What a load of horse manure. How can they not be seen as the huge American company when they do things like asking US Government and DoJ to intervene on their behalf in EU investigations? http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1887714,00.as p [eweek.com]

  • And I'll make it a true statement that Microsoft is no longer a "huge" American company.

    They'll be a LOT smaller when I get through with them.

    • Sadly, $120mill isn't a lot against a company like MS. The most efficient thing you could do with it would be to take out contracts on various execs, and I'm not sure that you should lower yourself to that level. Yet.

      • Actually I was "lowered" to that level years ago - using the $120 million for legit things would be a atep up for me.

        And I could do a lot with $120 million - that's just the seed capital for some R&D. Once I had the products I wanted, it would be easy to find investors to put up enough to bury Microsoft - especially since I'd use software patents to make sure Microsoft couldn't reverse engineer the product - "hoist them with their own petard", as it were. After MS (and a couple other outfits like Oracle
  • "Honey, does this monopoly make me look fat?"

  • Actions speak louder than words: here's a start (Score:3, Insightful)

    by sane? ( 179855 ) on Tuesday January 24, 2006 @05:47AM (#14547302)
    Stop assuming that the default is US English(sic) and USA for every damn thing. Its not "International English" its "English", and it should come before any regional dialect.

    Just try being a bit smarter and make sure you only ever ask once what country people are in - and take note from there. In short, start assuming the US is just one other country, and there is certainly nothing special about it. Save yourself the marketing budget for something useful.

  • Microsoft can see that Google's image of a "goo" company helps it put out features and products that, if came out of Microsoft would be instantly cried against and banned.

    If you've ever been in Microsoft's HQ you'll see it's a company like any else, with one exception: people really believe that their work will change the world, for the better or worse.

    This inspires, but it's also a lot of stress. Some support from the "public" is never a bad thing, neither for the employees or the business, so this initiat
    • If you've ever been in Microsoft's HQ you'll see it's a company like any else, with one exception: people really believe that their work will change the world, for the better or worse.

      To paraphrase H.L. Mencken, the New Deal, like the Salvation Army, set off to save mankind from it's inherent, incurable swinishness. Like the Salvation Army, it wound up running flophouses.

      Drawing the parallel is left as an exercise for the reader.

  • ...a huge Irish company... No, of course Microsoft is not an Irish company, but they *do* use Ireland as a base for most European operations. There are Microsoft branch offices in other European countries, but they all source their products from the Irish branch. The reason for this is that Ireland uses a 12.5% tax rate, half (or less) of what the rest of Europe charges. And Ireland is in the EU... And most trade within the EU is tax-free...

    More on this? Sure, look here (Irish unit lets Microsoft cut taxe [post-gazette.com]

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