Bing Jingle Contest Has a 'Winner'
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A few weeks ago, Microsoft launched a contest in which it asked the community to submit Bing jingles to the Bing YouTube site. Whoever came out on top would receive a $500 American Express gift check, with the possibility dangling out there that the jingle itself could be used as the basis for some sort of Microsoft ad campaign. On Aug. 5, Microsoft announced the winner: Jonathan Mann, whose jingle "Bing Goes the Internet" is accompanied by a video of the dude himself, backed by a troupe of white silhouettes, dancing in front of a giant blowup of the Bing search screen. Then you can start smashing your head against the nearest flat surface in a desperate attempt to drive that "jingle" out of your head because, yes, it really is that terrible. This song makes "It's A Small World After All" sound like a Beethoven symphony. It makes a 10-year-old fumbling with a guitar sound like Keith Richards blasting through "Gimme Shelter." You get the idea. "Remember the contest winner was chosen based on views and ratings," said Microsoft's announcement. "We are impressed that this has created such a stir." Microsoft's advertising budget for Bing was estimated, at the time of the Bing search engine's June 3 launch, at somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million to $100 million. All that money helped Bing come in a respectable third behind Yahoo and Google in its first few weeks of release, although Microsoft's latest search and advertising deal with Yahoo brings Bing to second place by default. In turn, the Bing campaign is part of a larger and more aggressive campaign by Microsoft to reclaim some of the mind share lost to Apple and other competitors over the past few years. Microsoft's "Laptop Hunter" ads, which highlight inexpensive PCs over Macs, even riled Apple enough to call for a retraction. If this jingle ever gets used in a campaign, it will not have a positive effect. In fact, the only time this jingle and the words "positive effect" could ever belong in the same sentence would be if some enterprising police department decided to play it on a continuous loop as an interrogation tool, in which case the suspect would plead guilty to virtually anything in order to make the pain stop. Microsoft does best, it seems, when it focuses its promotions on economics or productivity, not goofiness. |
Comments (6)
In other news, the same mans music will now be used to punish people who commit minor offenses. These people will be subjected to a random showing of 200 videos in a row without any breaks.
So to the next person who wants to pirate a copy of Windows, please think twice :) ROFL.
Posted by Dmitry | August 6, 2009 6:17 PM
Have to comment on MSN/MS-Live/Kumo/Bling/Blight/Bong, or whatever its called this week. So many renaming changes, what that line from the old Dragnet show: "the names were changed to protect the quilty." OK, so I didn't get that quite right, but maybe readers will get the point.
So Bing, will not replace the better Yahoo search, but Yahoo search will keep the name "Yahoo" in order to fool users. Another Mohave experiment? Or does Microsoft realize that their name brand is turning off people these days? People don't like to be "tricked" like this, this is dishonest and unethical. Standard play for the Vole.
Posted by Chips B Malroy | August 6, 2009 6:30 PM
It's catchy - In a birdie song kind of way.....
Posted by Michael | August 6, 2009 6:40 PM
Bing Search Reveals Pro-Microsoft Results
Just as Bing is gaining popularity, some disturbingly pro-Microsoft and anti-Apple search results rear their ugly heads.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/169750/bing_search_reveals_promicrosoft_results.html
Quote: "Case in point: a search on Bing for the phrase, "Why is Windows so expensive?" returned this as the top link....
"Why are Macs so expensive."
That's right. You're not hallucinating. That was the top response on Bing to a question about the price of Windows."
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There is lots of examples like this from various sources. The thing of it is, is Microsoft is acting like some sort of corporate "big brother." It has moved beyond software and services, and wants to control our very thoughts and public opinion. This should never be tolerated in a world where freedom is the norm.
IS Bing is just more controlware, from the Control Freaks at MS? Have they stepped over the line here?
Posted by Chips B Malroy | August 7, 2009 8:08 PM
Ballmer knew from the beginning that Bing was just a catch-phrase or the right jingle from stealing market share away from Google. It's really not as tough as the marketing team is making it. It's out there.
Posted by Dan | August 8, 2009 6:31 PM
When searching "why is windows so expensive", you get "why are macs so expensive", not because of some conspiracy. It is a legitimite response. That is why they refer to a "Mac Tax". Overall the experience is considerably more expensive than Windows. Sorry chips, no consipiracy.
Posted by Maxx | August 11, 2009 10:34 AM