Oooh! My NAUGHTY SKIRT keeps riding up! Hello, INTERNET EXPLORER Microsoft has come up with a new way to market Internet Explorer to Asian customers, and it's a major departure from the kinds of ad campaigns we're used to seeing from Redmond here in the West. Inori Aizawa, the 'personification of IE' Here she is, Miss Internet Explorer Meet Inori Aizawa, Microsoft's latest spokeswoman. …
> If you have a passing familiarity with Asian culture, you'll know that in context this is completely unremarkable.
Yes, that is true: two of the ugliest sides of Japanese and Korean culture are the outdated 50's gender roles and their bizarre blind spot for pedophilia, both of which are prominently featured in anime.
Everyone, especially in Europe, always jumps on the Microsoft sucks train. I guess you all prefer your European born OS and browsers that have found such success in the World. I am even surprised MS has survived in Europe with all the socialist, anti-competitive measures(massive fines) they have been attacked with. But I guess someone has to help support the economies over here, since the locals have become so unproductive.
The animation characters are used throughout Asia, with great success, to promote most software products. If Opera used the Simpsons, would that be terrible? No. Asia is a much more important and larger market, with people that actually have money, not credit. So why not adapt marketing to what our market responds to?
You mean Linux and Android with the Europe born OS?
Yeah, I do prefer them to Windows generally.
The advert is specifically Japanese though, it would raise eyebrows across vast swathes of Asia, especially Southern and South Eastern. Well, maybe not in the Phillipines. It'll work well in Japan and probably South Korea though. South Korea's weird about IE.
But hey, what do I know, I'm just a Brit who used to live in Beijing and happens to be ethnically Chinese. Not an American or Japanese.
You won't hear any of those comments from me. In fact; I'm a happy Win7 and Office 2010 user and I consider these two products to be quite solid. In fact; I even don't hate Microsoft Explorer all that much (although I commonly use SeaMonkey myself). Their "In-Private navigation" option for example is something I consider to be quite slick.
It's not so much hating, but some of the things MS does seem hypocrite. Take this, not too shabby, Anime. You see that the old "RGBY" Windows logo is strongly visible there. But wasn't it Microsoft themselves which recently told us that this logo is now obsolete and that we should focus our love and attention on a new, mono coloured, logo?
It's stuff like that which doesn't add up. "We now have a new Windows logo", "And here we promote our product with the logo which we recently called old and obsolete". It doesn't add up.
And being an Anime fan myself I can't help notice that story-wise Microsoft are now flaunting with the storyline of another product. I mean; looking at this video I'd say the girl more personalizes Netscape than Explorer. Think about it: shot down by Microsoft on numerous occasions (trying to twist the web by changing standards into non-disclosed standards) and although Netscape was heavily wounded (which is a nice touch in this video IMO) they sure knew how to defend themselves from the onslaught which was Microsoft.
THAT is an accurate look at history. Yet as Microsoft has done so many times they now seem to be trying and rewrite history. Worse yet: using the storyline of their "victim" to promote their own goods, how sick is that?
This isn't hating, this is Microsoft pulling yet another odd move.
Hmmmm. I think the Taliban come out with a similar statement to this subject title, as do countries that have young girls marrying old men, and other places with laws we perceive as 'archaic' at best.
Ok, I used extremes to prove the point (I'm not comparing Japanese to the Taliban etc.) but it shows that such a line of 'reasoning' is bogus.
That transformation sequence (including the music!) awfully reminds me of the "Anime" episode which can be seen in Grant Theft Auto IV :-)
In case you're wondering what this is all about then check out this page on the Rockstargames website (click "videos" at the bottom and you can see what I'm referring to).
@ShelLuser: "Well, there isn't anything directly explicit to be seen there but yeah; I wouldn't watch that while being at work."
You do realize that 'Princess Robot Bubblegum' is taking the piss out of Anime?
"Only a hypersexualized nerds fantasy can save humanity, by sleeping with it"
http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/#?page=videos&content=princessrobot
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re: the comments on this regarticle, I haven't laughed so much in ages ...
When I was younger, I used to be a clumsy, slow and awkward girl.
However, just like the story of ugly duckling, people told me that I have really matured and changed over the years. I feel confident in my abilities now, and I'm eager to show you what I can do.
Pass the sick-bag, Alice.
I suppose this is some kind of confession, and it should read:
When I was younger I was a crap browser that didn't comply with standards and I caused the proliferation of invalid HTML pages.
However, just like the story of ugly duckling, people told me that I have really matured and changed over the years. Unfortunately, it's too late. By the time I became a swan there were lots of other swans, and many people liked penguins more, so nobody cared.
I've used IE for years and years!
Why do I never experience the problems so may claim to experience? (it's just MS bashing so they can claim to be superior)
I've tried others, but they always have their faults that I just can't get away with.
IE for me please.
Let the "BLA BLA BLA" begin!
I've used IE for years and years!
I don't think IE is vilified for the user experience it offers. The earlier versions, especially IE6, were a source of numerous problems for web developers and designers because they failed to adhere to HTML standards in some quite important ways. This has nothing to do with "MS bashing", unless you think that whatever Microsoft does is the de-facto standard.
MS must have noted the general reaction to "Emasculating Smartphomes" and thought since they can'd be emasculating there must be reason. I'm calling my MS-Phone cousin to ask how's life.
That will definitely attract more ladies into STEM careers.
MS got it right this time, eh Googlers?
Is that a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard she's using?
BTW, this sort of thing is called Moe anthropomorphism.
Anime: An English word derived from a Japanese word derived from a French word derived from an English word derived from another English word derived from a Latin word.
At this point, I'm surprised there are still two syllables left in common with the starting point.
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