“Don’t fight. Switch” is a fun Windows Phone ad–will it help?

Microsoft just released a new ad for Windows Phones, one that takes a light-hearted look at the battle playing out between Samsung/Android and Apple iPhone users, with Windows Phone shown as perhaps a saner alternative.

The ad campaign plays off what’s apparently a new slogan for Windows Phone:

dontfightswitch

… which in turn is a play on one of the most famous taglines of the “Mad Men” era of cigarette advertising, American Tobacco Company’s “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!”.  That campaign, which pushed Tareyton cigarettes into top 10 sales for a time, played on users that didn’t follow the crowd, and aimed to “create a sense of loyalty” among users.

The new Windows Phone ad shows a wedding in progress (the scene at the beginning where everyone in the room raises their phones to capture the event is priceless!), which quickly turns into an Apple vs. Android brawl, with two Windows Phone using caterers looking on in bemusement:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

A quick look over at WindowsPhone.com shows that the ad, and the campaign (with its #timetoswitch hashtag) are already featured prominently, along with a head to head comparison between the Nokia Lumia 920, the Samsung Gallery S III, and the iPhone 5 (that turns out to be long on Nokia Lumia features and short on any actual comparisons with the other phones).

Microsoft is creating a bit of a buzz, finally, with the new ad.  This time, unlike with Bing’s “Scroogled” campaign, the buzz seems to be almost entirely positive, as it is indeed a fun little ad.  Now to see if it actually sells some phones.


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