Microsoft Posts Anti-Apple Windows Phone Videos of Questionable Taste [Update: Removed]

Microsoft has posted seven new videos to its Windows Phone YouTube page, as part of a new series it calls 'A fly on the wall in Cupertino'.

The ads purport to show iPhone 5c and 5s product pitch meetings with characters that bear a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, though the Jobs-esque character is called Tim several times.


If the executive in the videos is intended to resemble Steve Jobs, then they would appear to be in very poor taste. It's not at all clear how the videos -- which don't ever explain how Windows Phone is better than iOS -- help Microsoft achieve its stated goal of getting users to switch to its platform.

- A fly on the wall in Cupertino
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: Colours
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: Polycarbonate
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: Innovative materials
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: The phone for everyone
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: Fingerprint reader
- A fly on the wall in Cupertino: 8-megapixel camera

Update 12:42 PM PDT: Microsoft has pulled the videos from YouTube. The video embedded above is from a backup a viewer saved.

Microsoft gave this statement to The Next Web: "The video was intended to be a light-hearted poke at our friends from Cupertino. But it was off the mark, and we’ve decided to pull it down."

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Top Rated Comments

BC2009 Avatar
151 months ago
Oh Microsoft.... how far you have fallen.
Score: 163 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daneoni Avatar
151 months ago
Shouldn't you only mouth off when you have a superior product? WP8 is not superior to iOS. And if it wasn't for Nokia they wouldn't even be on the radar.

How low can you go MS.
Score: 95 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ValSalva Avatar
151 months ago
That character they call "T" or Tim is clearly supposed to be Steve Jobs.

These ads are just dumb. Nothing clever about them. Now it's just getting bitter, vindictive, and desperate for Microsoft. It's sad really.
Score: 80 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
151 months ago
Insulting the intelligence of your competitor's customers seems like a great idea.
Score: 79 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hastings101 Avatar
151 months ago
Seems pretty accurate to me honestly
Score: 67 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BlockEight88 Avatar
151 months ago
I gotta agree with the ad. What the hell has Apple been doing the last 6 months? But unfortunately, the iPhone 5C/S will not flop. People will once again line up in droves. I don't understand it. They're not bad phones, but their not innovative.
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)