Re: Idea for AS/400 Marketing... -- MIDRANGE-L

 
> Isn't that along the same lines as the old "Crash-proof" OS/2 campaign? If
> my memory serves me correctly (which it often doesn't!), I don't think it
> was very effective.

i don't remember that one, what i remember is the os/2 warp, with a kid
with wild hair and i think even a flying nun.  seems like it was in 95
or 96.  i remember thinking at the time, isn't that ibm's p/c operating
system?  looks like a video game...  not an ad campain to appeal to
serious business.

i don't remember the crash proof os/2 ad campaign.  perhaps ibm didn't
take it to the mainstream media.  or it was too early, before everyone
had p/c's on their desks, and were using windows.  after all, dos was
pretty stable.  and not to many people would remember an ad campaign
from several years before!  i can see it now, when windows crashes, mr
exec saying, 'oh yeah, i remember!  we need os/2!  saw that ad 3 years
ago where it doesn't crash.'

but now, we've been thru windows 3, 3.1, 95 and 98.  people are getting
sick of the promise that the next one won't crash as much.  


> How about something like this....
> 
> Scene opens with the camera showing a rack of PC servers, monitors,
> keyboards etc. against a wall in a room that resembles a lab. Seated in
> front of the rack is some tech-guy typing frantically away at the keyboards
> while his eyes keep darting back and forth across the monitors. His
> appearance is somewhat rumpled. In the background, we see a couple of other
> techs walking back & forth with cables in their hands, or writing on a
> clipboard while staring at monitors. You can hear the buzzing and beeping of
> various machines and fans.
> 
> Then we hear a narrator break into the commercial. The narrator says
> something like, "This company has automated systems for their webserver,
> email, groupware, data warehouse, decision support, and customer
> relationship systems."

or show users barging in, complaining that their system is down, their
p/c froze again, and another coming in and saying he's not getting his
e-mail, and even another coming in and saying his screen is saying
something wierd.  and a techie sighing and saying, 'well, i guess we'll
have to reboot...'
 
> Then we fade out and the next scene opens with the camera showing a small
> cubical, and a single desk. Beside the desk is a single 270 Series machine
> purring quietly away. In front of the desk, is a guy dressed very casually,
> leaning back in his chair, feet up on the desk, sunglasses over his eyes,
> and obviously catching a few winks. The narrator comes back in saying, "So
> does their competition."

or reading the newspaper...  kinda like the maytag repairman, right! 
 
> The screen goes white, and then we see the 270 being faded in. When it's in
> full view, the narrator closes with "This is one of IBM's business
> computers. We call it the AS/400. (pause...) It just sits there and works -
> so you don't have to." Or something to that effect....

something like that would be great.  i've thought of several ads with
two buddies that are execs, one in charge of a company with a p/c
network, and the other in charge of a company with an as/400.

have several ads with them comparing budgets, downtime, etc.  

but lou won't return my calls...

nj
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