Rejected Concepts from the Microsoft App Lab
The Windows Mobile Dev Team at Microsoft created video taking the viewer inside the "Top Secret Microsoft App Lab" and poking fun at some "rejected" concepts for the Windows Marketplace. Taken at face value, the video is a halfway decent attempt at humor coming from a corporation with some serious branding issues, even if it's played a little too broad for my tastes (not that we should have expected subtlety and refinement from the company that brought us Windows Vista).
As Techcrunch points out, however, this isn't just an attempt at a funny Microsoft viral, it's a (not-too-subtle) dig at Apple's own App Store. Except instead of sharp satire, the whole point doesn't go over too well. Sure, the iTunes App Store carries a fair amount of stupid and/or pointless applications, but that doesn't change the fact that people are buying them. Rather than poke fun at something the developers at Microsoft clearly don't understand, maybe they should actually try figuring out what people want for a change.
Ironically, aforementioned issues aside, this video may be the first marketing trick they've done right in a while. It may be kind of cheesy, but at least people are talking about it. But without further ado (i.e. pro-Apple propaganda from yours truly), here's the video so you can judge for yourself.
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