Why the Mojave Experiment fails

The "Mojave Experiment" is conceptually a fresh marketing effort—at least for such a lame marketer as Microsoft. But after looking more closely at Mojave and reviewing Microsoft Watch reader comments, I have to call the experiment perhaps the worst kind of marketing.

I apologize to readers. I got caught up in the Microsoft glow after so many months of marketing darkness. Did I drink Microsoft Kool-Aid? Sadly, yes. The reasons why the Mojave Experiment fails should have been obvious. They are:

1. Microsoft treats its customers like they're stupid. I've had this complaint for a decade. Wizards perhaps best personify the attitude. Microsoft compels customers to go through long and unnecessary step-by-step processes to set up something. It's click, click, click, click, click, click, click, where one or two clicks should be enough. The iPod model is an example of the right approach. The end user plugs in the device and it begins loading music.

Microsoft takes an infantile approach, of holding the end user's hands, like a parent with a child learning to walk. But Microsoft doesn't let go—doesn't let Windows users grow up. Microsoft's handholding holds them down.


The marketing campaign presumes that people are too stupid to see how great is Windows Vista.

"Telling the customer that they have been stupid is a great way to get business," wrote commenter Ken Houghton. "Especially the customer who then goes to her Corporate IT department and says, 'Gee, I see people saying Vista is a great OS?' and is then told that there are no plans to roll it out this decade." Or maybe if that person works in the IT, they're fired for seeming to be so stupid or having given out bad advice.

2. Microsoft embarrasses Mojave participates. Continuing on the stupid theme is how Microsoft finally gets that "ah-ha" or "wow" reaction to Windows Vista. As I said yesterday, "I am wrong" isn't the best emotion to elicit about a product. Nobody likes being shown they're wrong or for it to be insinuated that they're stupid. "Wow, I feel like an idiot" is light years removed from "Wow, this is a great product."

Good marketing campaigns tout product benefits, show how the product will make the buyer's life easier. There's nothing aspirational or good feeling about making someone look foolish or stupid.

Last night, I watched Monday's "Saving Grace" from a DVR recording. To my surprise, Apple had two separate iPhone ads in the program. Right now, iPhone 3G is one of the hottest products on the planet. The hype alone, propagated by blogs, mainstream media and word of mouth, is like billions of dollars in free advertising. Yet Apple chooses to advertise on TV, to spend hundreds of millions more to tell its story.

What story does Microsoft choose to tell about Vista after about 15 months of silence: You the customer are too stupid to see how great is Windows Vista. Wow, that's brilliant marketing, guys.

3. The marketing campaign blames customers for Vista's problems. It's easy for Microsoft to say that bloggers, reviewers, forum posts and even Apple advertising are major reasons for negative perceptions about Windows Vista. But the blogs and reviews are negative for a reason. Many advanced users don't like Windows Vista. Problem: Mojave doesn't really blame them directly but the people in the videos. Everybody else is the problem with Vista but Vista.

There's presumption here that there's nothing wrong with the operating system. This was a consistent theme coming from Microsoft executives during last week's Financial Analyst Meeting and the Worldwide Partner Conference two weeks ago: Vista is OK now; Service Pack 1 has come to the rescue.

Oh? Then why are so many customers still asking for Windows XP? And why are so many OEM partners aggressively pushing XP over Vista when that means, after June 30, shipping two Windows licenses on new PCs? Something's wrong here that is much bigger than negative perceptions.

"The first step in fixing a problem is admitting that you have one. The only way to read this campaign is that Microsoft considers Vista's failure to be due to customer ignorance rather than failings of the product itself," wrote commenter Phil. "Either fix the product, or lower the cost to make it a justifiable purchase."

Microsoft isn't good at fixing some of its problems. On the one hand, the company's corporate culture is self-deprecating, in a fairly positive way. Company execs can laugh at themselves. But this "It's not my fault," blame the customer or partner attitude is pervasive. Microsoft treats many customers and partners with contempt. Licensing polices are great example, but that's topic for another blog.

4. Microsoft denies there is a real problem. Contempt and blaming relate to corporate cultural denial. Microsoft's way of deflecting fault is to look ahead. Microsoft messaging consistently is that the next version will be better. It's "Let's look to the future," when the problem is now.

The company will spend billions of dollars on research and development for future products but barely a fraction of that promoting its existing stuff. It's the same "tomorrow will be better thinking" that denies problems now and arrogantly presumes research is the only way to make things better.

When it comes to advertising, Microsoft is the worst kind of cheapskate. Microsoft should spend a whole lot less on R&D for the future and lots more now selling its products' benefits. Microsoft does advertise. Its TV commercials are about corporate vision, about how people will achieve their dreams. They're arrogant commercials. They're feel good for Microsoft, rather than feel good for customers, by showing them how the company's products could make life better.

5. Mojave seethes with arrogance. Microsoft's stated Mojave Experiment hypothesis: "If people could see Windows Vista firsthand, they would like it." The real hypothesis: If we trick people, they will see just how stupid they are.

From conception to execution, Mojave carries a strong undercurrent of arrogance: We're smart. You're stupid. The mechanism of tricking customers, who were specifically chosen because they had strong negative attitudes about Vista, is hugely arrogant. Microsoft says that "Hardy har har har, we're better than you."

There's already a perception of arrogance about Microsoft, and now company marketing executives want to reinforce it? Who's really being dumb and dumber here?

If the Mojave Experiment is example of what Microsoft spent $300 million on to promote Vista, bad is going to get much worse.