Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is the big winner in advertising among technology companies, according to Chris Matyszczyk of CNET. He thinks the best tech company ad for 2013 was the one for Google Glass. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), however, didn’t fare so well in his view, and neither did Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930).
Google Glass ad wins the prize
The ad for Google Glass was certainly a beautiful one, I’ll give him that. It highlights people actually living their lives and doing things rather than with their noses in a tablet or smartphone. The ad also shows off the functionality of the device very well, and if it works as well as the ad shows it working, then Google Glass will be the very first step in the direction of truly augmented reality.
Wearable computing has been seen as the future, and placing information directly in our view without having to search for it is something that will appeal to many. The biggest complaint is that this device is a pair of glasses, which many people may not want because they don’t like to wear glasses. However, I see the future of this technology as putting it into contact lenses.
The way Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) showed people living could be an interesting trend in tech advertising in 2014. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has made similar ad statements recently, suggesting that people go out and live rather than sit around with their nose in some kind of device.
Apple, the butt of advertising jokes
Speaking of Nokia, the company has taken several pot shots at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) this year, including poking fun of the iPhone’s camera and showing how the iPad can’t be used in direct sunlight. But Nokia wasn’t the only company placing a target on Apple’s back this year. Samsung did as well, showing how the iPhone is old and suggesting that Samsung products are for those wanting newer, fresher devices. Nokia ran an ad campaign similar to this as well, showing the iPhone as having technology that isn’t up to par with its own smartphones.
Matyszczyk also points to some rather horrible ads put out by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) this year, including the ones for the Galaxy S4 launch and the Galaxy Gear.
Painful Apple ads in 2013
But the worst of the worst in terms of tech ads, according to the writer, are those put out by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) this past year. He said it looked like Apple was less confident, but he liked the ad showing a boy using his iPhone to document his family’s holiday celebrations. Personally, I didn’t really like that ad because it shows why the iPhone is sort of the antithesis of Google Glass. Instead of viewing the celebrations in real life, he viewed them through a camera lens and actually ignored his family. Are Apple users so self-absorbed that they remove themselves from reality?
He thinks Apple’s worst ads for the year were the “Designed by Apple in California” campaign, and he could be right about this. The company clearly wanted to butter up its home state for some reason.
Microsoft at the bottom of the ad heap
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) continued its Scroogled ads this year, and they are rather cheesy and old-fashioned, which certainly puts them toward the bottom of the list in my view as well. However, Matyszczyk gives a thumbs up to the company’s Xbox One ads, which I have to admit are pretty entertaining.
