Microsoft is making a habit out of mocking Siri.
Apple's personal assistant faces her Windows Phone rival, Cortana, in a new ad from M:United hawking the HTC One M8 smartphone. Cortana also went against the iPhone's voice concierge in a commercial earlier this summer. That spot focused on how Siri was comparatively inept. Now, she is cast as a diva.
That probably rings true for anyone who's ever wrestled with that functionality on an iOS device. Cortana, though, is at the disadvantage here of having to explain why she's better and what hardware she occupies. Everyone recognizes an iPhone and Siri—the whole concept stands on the competition's shoulders.
At the same time, Apple bashing is a quick and easy way to get millions of YouTube views, as Samsung proved. So, it's not surprising to see Microsoft try a similar strategy. Plus, it's paying Apple back, in a small way, for all the knocks in the old "Get a Mac" campaign.
Though it is perhaps telling that this approach frames the battle primarily in terms of miniature faceless robots, instead of humans.
Credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Microsoft
Product: Windows Phones
Spot: HTC "Mirror/Sitting" M8
Agency: M:United
Global Executive Creative Directors: Andy Azula, Con Williamson
Creative Director: Mike Lear
Copywriter: Cedric Giese
Art Director: Ron Villacarillo
Director of Creative Technology: David Cliff
TV Producers: Mel Senecal, Emilie Talermo
Strategy Team: Kevin Nelson, Michelle Kiely, Jeremy Davis, Lauren Curtis
Account Team: John Dunleavy, Darla Price, Melissa Trought, Reena Factor, Liam Mulcahy
Video Production: No6
Music: "You Always Make Me Smile," Kyle Andrews
"I Feel Pretty," written by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, performed by Stingray Music
Media Agency: EMT
Visual Effects: Method