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design219 · Jan 9, 2009, 09:42 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0zGAB40GYA

Featuring a Macbook Pro. Anyway, this should rate very high on the list of lamest marketing ever.

And when will garage band add this feature?

starman · Jan 9, 2009, 09:48 PM

o
m
g

Oisín · Jan 9, 2009, 09:53 PM

Originally Posted by design219

Microsoft Songsmith... WTF is their marketing department thinking??

“Thinking”? Surely you jest.

shifuimam · Jan 9, 2009, 09:54 PM

Lame commercial, but that's a pretty cool idea.

Spheric Harlot · Jan 9, 2009, 10:02 PM

Oh Microsoft! Life is so complicated! Fix it: Belittle me!

Or, um. Yeah.

Does anybody have an example of what results sound like when the singers AREN'T pitch corrected to hell?

torsoboy · Jan 9, 2009, 10:45 PM

Those were corrected??

Lamest songs ever, but a fun idea. Crappy back tracks though.

rickey939 · Jan 9, 2009, 11:00 PM

Mentos® would be proud of this.

Cipher13 · Jan 10, 2009, 12:00 AM

Holy ****, what a horrific ad.

olePigeon · Jan 10, 2009, 12:35 AM

So I guess she's dual booting?

Laminar · Jan 10, 2009, 02:10 AM

You know he's in a band because he has a pierced ear.

moep · Jan 10, 2009, 02:17 AM

This is so fricken bad that it makes me wonder if it was intentional to get it viral.

Goldfinger · Jan 10, 2009, 03:47 AM

Hehe, she's called Lisa..

richwig83 · Jan 10, 2009, 04:07 AM

Is this a wind up?

Doofy · Jan 10, 2009, 06:50 AM

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot

Does anybody have an example of what results sound like when the singers AREN'T pitch corrected to hell?

Plenty.

Eug · Jan 10, 2009, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Cipher13

Holy ****, what a horrific ad.

Is it really an ad? It's by Microsoft Research.

More like a demo video.

ghporter · Jan 10, 2009, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

So I guess she's dual booting?

The whole thing is going to make ME boot* a number of times. The program is a nice idea. Horribly realized, of course, but a nice idea. But the "musical" commercial, dad out of marketing ideas, Lisa who couldn't sing her way out of a wet paper bag, and of course the lame "let's plaster stickers all over an MBP so nobody will ever notice this is a Mac!!! (wink, wink!!!). Pathetic.

*Note the subtle "Animal House" reference here...

waxcrash · Jan 10, 2009, 07:56 AM

The one responsible for this monstrosity...

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/dan/

Atheist · Jan 10, 2009, 07:56 AM

I honestly thought it was a joke until google proved me wrong. I'm speechless... MS is so blatantly clueless when it comes to marketing.

Doofy · Jan 10, 2009, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

The program is a ~~nice~~ stolen idea.

I played around with this kind of thing 20 years ago.

I'm sure some here will remember Steinberg's "Tango".

slugslugslug · Jan 10, 2009, 11:18 AM

I just watched that thing, and now I really want to just crawl back in bed for the rest of the day. Ow, my brain.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jan 10, 2009, 01:10 PM

"It's from Microsoft, so it must be easy to use".

It isn't even a cool product, it just sounds like some old synth keyboard from 1984 that picks a MIDI tune based on your tempo.

One of the worst video's I have seen in a while, I cringed less watching 2 girls one cup.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jan 10, 2009, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by waxcrash

The one responsible for this monstrosity...

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/dan/

"Worked on image analysis projects related to Hansen’s development of a robotic catheter control system."

Hawt.

angelmb · Jan 10, 2009, 03:01 PM

a towel that glows in the dark… last time I heard 'glows in the dark' from Microsoft was from an add (Macworld 03.2002) for the crappy Office:mac v.X

It's the purest Mac version ever.
The fact that it glows in the dark is nice too.

I still have the magazine somewhere.

ghporter · Jan 10, 2009, 04:07 PM

He plays the accordion. That explains SO much...

zro · Jan 10, 2009, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

He plays the accordion. That explains SO much...

He gets a pass if he plays Zydeco on that thing.

Spheric Harlot · Jan 10, 2009, 06:04 PM

Absolutely, agreed.

And rock accordion is hella fun.

ghporter · Jan 10, 2009, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by zro

He gets a pass if he plays Zydeco on that thing.

Granted, but I kind of doubt that he could even pronounce Zydeco, or recognize that Buckwheat Zydeco was a person of some note... He may not even be able to play a polka on that thing...

Wiskedjak · Jan 10, 2009, 07:00 PM

I'm pretty sure MS marketing had nothing to do with this. It seems more like an internal team video populated by team members.

design219 · Jan 10, 2009, 07:21 PM

Apple would never let something like that get out.

- - e r i k - - · Jan 11, 2009, 05:44 PM

"microsoft huh? So it's pretty easy to use?"

Shaddim · Jan 11, 2009, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot

Absolutely, agreed.

And rock accordion is hella fun.

but second to rock bagpipes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1dYIWu2ME

ghporter · Jan 11, 2009, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by Shaddim

but second to rock bagpipes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1dYIWu2ME

Imagine "Smoke on the Water" played by a very good, very enthusiastic pipes band. It's better than that.

Shaddim · Jan 11, 2009, 10:38 PM

Last summer I listened to a bagpipe tool cover band, it was amazing.

You've not heard Prison Sex until you've heard it on pipes!

sdilley14 · Jan 12, 2009, 12:06 AM

That was terrible.

Big Mac · Jan 12, 2009, 12:37 AM

Pretty awful.

Luca Rescigno · Jan 12, 2009, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by design219

Apple would never let something like that get out.

You obviously missed the terrible (albeit short-running) series of ads Apple put out several years ago featuring various ugly people singing badly. It was right as the "Switch" ads were wrapping up, and shot in a similar style (people on plain white backgrounds), but instead of telling a story, they were wearing iPods and singing. There was some annoying 12-year-old kid singing an Eminem song and some long-haired, bearded baby boomer singing "My Generation."

So yes, Apple did indeed let something like that get out. Every company seems to try the "so horrible you can't even bear to watch" marketing angle at some point, for whatever reason. Maybe they think it's funny.

Laminar · Jan 12, 2009, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno

So yes, Apple did indeed let something like that get out. Every company seems to try the "so horrible you can't even bear to watch" marketing angle at some point, for whatever reason. Maybe they think it's funny.

Was he referring to the ad or the software?

Luca Rescigno · Jan 12, 2009, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Was he referring to the ad or the software?

Well, seeing as how he almost certainly hasn't used the software, and how everyone in this thread seems to be referring to the ad, I assumed he meant that.

starman · Jan 12, 2009, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by design219

Apple would never let something like that get out.

I guess you've never heard the "Macintosh, Leading the Way" songs.

design219 · Jan 12, 2009, 08:13 AM

Yes, the ad. I can't imagine the software is anything but a toy.

And I did miss those Apple ads. Thank goodness.

analogika · Jan 12, 2009, 08:52 AM

Those iPod ads were pretty funny, actually.

And as for "Leading the Way" - that was the Apple II era, IIRC. The other song from that time was "Apple II Forever".

And it was the 80s - remember, "Flashdance" was state of the art, and for corporate spirit songs, they actually weren't half-badly done.

Luca Rescigno · Jan 12, 2009, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

Those iPod ads were pretty funny, actually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56-VOrE64_E

Watch that and tell me it isn't cringeworthy.

Spheric Harlot · Jan 12, 2009, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56-VOrE64_E

Watch that and tell me it isn't cringeworthy.

That isn't cringeworthy. I think it's hilarious.

I cringe at karaoke.

lyanma · Jan 12, 2009, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

I'm pretty sure MS marketing had nothing to do with this. It seems more like an internal team video populated by team members.

This kind of ads are called Viral Advertising! And it was a very bright move from Microsoft, because guess what? they made you talk about it and now you know about their product, and you are going to talk about this horrible ad and kind of interesting product with your friends, and family. Just like design219 did, he shared this with us and now we just start talking about it more and more. So yeah that is the point of an ad, to inform people about a product, and make people talk about it ( thats free advertisement (: ), and so lots of people will buy Songsmith.
So, they really used their brains to create this ad.

Dakar V · Jan 12, 2009, 10:16 AM

As soon as the girl started singing, I closed the tab.

No thank you.

design219 · Jan 12, 2009, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by lyanma

Just like design219 did, he shared this with us and now we just start talking about it more and more.

Marketing 101: the fastest way to kill a bad product is with good promotion.

lyanma · Jan 12, 2009, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by design219

Marketing 101: the fastest way to kill a bad product is with good promotion.

And you call that video good promotion?
That video seems like something that was made in the late 80's, early 90's? The video's promotional skills sucks.
Now, that someone uploaded that video on youtube, that was brilliant.
You are not going to buy this product, but with so many people talking about it and letting others know about this product there will be some people willing to try the product and actually buy it, believe it or not.

design219 · Jan 12, 2009, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by lyanma

And you call that video good promotion?

No, you did. I agree that going viral is getting the product talked about... but mostly it's getting the product laughed at.

lyanma · 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by design219

No, you did. I agree that going viral is getting the product talked about... but mostly it's getting the product laughed at.

I didn't said the video was great, i said the viral ad idea is great.
Yes it is getting laughed at, but not everyone is going to laugh at it. The thing is, I dont think we are the target. I'm guessing the target is: Men, women, late 20s and on, with kids, and poor knowledge about computers/computer programs whatsoever.
So we can get to laugh at it, but those people are going to find it somehow interesting.

starman · Jan 12, 2009, 11:44 AM

My daughter thought it was stupid.

Her exact words: "what the heck is THAT?"

Fail.