9 years ago
2
Microsoft paid the NFL $400 million to use its tablets, and announcers are still calling them iPads
Last season, Microsoft struck a $400 million deal with the NFL to make the Surface the official tablet of the NFL. Understandably, there were some hiccups along the way, with announcers calling them "iPads" or "iPad-like tools." Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears even referred to them as "knockoff iPads." After some coaching from Microsoft, things got better. But a year later, it seems like the NFL announcers have regressed.
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Man, I don't know what it is with Microsoft and branding. Between the Surface and Bing, it seems they just can't get their brand names into the public consciousness. I'm pretty sure people call it "googling" even when they do it on Bing.
I mean, even product names like Windows and Office haven't reached the level of ubiquity of "iPhone" and "iPad." Maybe it's because they're more generic and less distinctive, but then "Bing" is pretty distinctive, but then it's also... lame. Especially the attempt at pushing "Bing it" into the collective consciousness.
Microsoft has historically been horrible at marketing. Started with Windows 95 and the cast of "Friends" and hasn't gotten much better since
Apple, under Jobs, went above and beyond to make sure that their product names (iPhone, iPad, iPod) were burned into the public consciousness. Every phone in TV shows was an iPhone. Every time a character showed some dazzling, high-detailed map it was on an iPad. Main character sits down at his Macbook and searches for evidence. You watch popular television and 9 times out of 10, everyone's using an Apple product.
So, I guess it's no real surprise that when Microsoft tried to make inroads at the NFL, all the announcers just called them 'iPads'. Apple had beaten them to the punch.