The Wow Is When?

Until yesterday, Microsoft really only told half the story. While the company has touted business benefits since last January's Consumer Electronics Show, the messaging for consumers remained fairly low key. While the half of story might seem like enough, overlapping work and home lifestyles makes the other half of the story important to businesses, too.

One of Microsoft's Windows Vista design goals: embrace overlapping personal and professional computing needs. The new Windows Vista Web site marketing messaging today, leveraging content from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' CES keynote, touts the benefits of the new operating system and Office 2007. During last month's Vista and Office business launches, Microsoft executives more loosely connected benefits.

Microsoft partners are finally free to discuss new Windows Vista computers, even if they aren't yet shipping. For example, Toshiba announced a new Tablet PC (Portege R400) and a touch-screen desktop (TouchSmart PC).

Microsoft's Windows Vista "the 'Wow' starts now" marketing tagline is a bit corny and contrived. It evokes what Microsoft needs from customers, but not necessarily how they will react.

Microsoft needs customers to want Vista more than Windows XP, which for lots of people is going to be good enough. "Wow" should be Microsoft's objective, because that's the kind of reaction that motivates sales.

As part of its early consumer marketing effort, Microsoft asks people to "show us your 'Wow.'" The marketing campaign/contest asks people to upload mementos of their most memorable "Wow" experience. In typical Microsoft fashion, there is a catch. To upload that "Wow," people need to have or obtain a Windows Live ID.

Gates is the first Wower (but ineligible for the contest), with a video describing his wow experience with the Altair computer in 1974.

Gates is very much the center of early Windows Vista consumer marketing. In a personal appeal, which is essentially the same content as his Wow video, Gates invites consumers to share their most memorable experiences. For now, Gates is the face of Windows Vista. He is the front man, which is a pretty good approach. Microsoft should give Gates even more Windows Vista profile.

There are very good reasons why magazines regularly put pictures of people on the covers. D'oh, people identify with people. Companies look for spokespeople to represent their brands for good reasons. Some of the unlikely spokespeople are companies' founders or chief executives, a strategy that worked well for Perdue and Wendy's. C`mon, these guys weren't exactly fashion models, yet they represented their products to a generation of consumers.

No question, Gates lacks a certain kind of panache. He's no Steve Jobs. Apple's CEO is smooth and he mingles well, at least on the keynote stage, with celebrities and rock stars. Two years ago at CES, comedian Conan O`Brien had to make fun of Gates to get laughs. I'm sure Gates has a sense of humor, but he's no straight man, even when he's supposed to be one.

Gates' heady ways make him seem like a poor choice to represent Windows Vista, but maybe that's no problem. TV shows, such as "Bones," "Closer," "House," "Monk" and "Numb3rs," put extremely smart but socially inept people in the limelight. It's chic to be geek, which might just work for Gates as the early Vista consumer marketing front man.

There is business appeal, too. Gates may be a monopolist, but he's a successful businessman and philanthropist. His street cred is good, even if people may moan about Windows crashes or spyware infestations.

The irony: No other prominent technologist probably evokes less "Wow" than Gates. He's no salesman because he appeals to the intellect rather than the emotions. By contrast, Apple's Jobs makes the slightest technology seem magical. Gates' awkwardness is appealing in other ways because he has vision and has made mountains of money by that vision.

Oh, wow.