Los Angeles — It is a familiar gripe: Technology makes communication more efficient, but less personal. Skype may be the most popular consumer VoIP service in the world, but it faces numerous challenges. Now Microsoft, in its latest Skype ad campaign, wants you to believe that its service is the only truly human way to communicate–and that Facebook and Twitter are draining our souls.
The definition of humanity is being altered by technology. To counter the problem Microsoft has launched a $12 million advertising campaign titled: “It’s Time for Skype” campaign in the U.S. and the U.K. It contains two ads that bashes Facebook and Twitter, noting how they are next to useless for communication when compared to Skype.
The basic idea is that text-based communication sucks, whether it is a text message or a social media network, and the first campaign that tries to leverage consumer anxiety about alienation is that frames its service as the more human of modern ways to stay in touch online is to use Skype.
One of Skype’s new selling points (Credit: Skype)
The looking and listening are certainly capabilities that Skype offers. Because many of you have already been engulfed into the nasty catacomb of social media networking, you might not realize what has happened to you. So Skype is running ads that read, for example: “Humans were made to look, listen and feel.”
In fact, the campaign consists of seven massive billboards ads, two of which make pretty cynical remarks about Facebook and Twitter. You can see some of those here, courtesy of Business Insider.
What might have once seemed perfectly in sync with normal behavior–say, having dinner with someone without checking your cell phone–now seems perversely outdated. These are some of the smart point of difference for the brand to focus on, even if the executions themselves are a bit brash.
Check out some more ads from the series after the jump. The campaign will extend to the U.S. via digital executions in coming months, including an application on Skype’s Facebook page that will let fans create their own “Humoticon”–a picture of themselves expressing a human emotion—and share it with their network.
Another new Skype-ism (Credit: Skype)
Another ad in Skype’s campaign says: “Upgrade from a wall post to a first-class conversation.” This curiously implies that people do not consider wall posting a first-class conversation. Which they patently do. Posting on a wall is immediate, grossly amusing and invites not just one person, but thousands to answer back.
(Credit: Skype)
Here are all the billboard captions:
- Upgrade From A Wall Post To A First Class Conversation
- 140 Characters Doesn’t Equal Staying In Touch
- When Did It Become Okay To Text Mum Happy Birthday?
- Your One-Way Ticket Back To Humanity
- When Did LOL Replace The Sound Of Laughter
- Humans Were Made To Look Listen And Feel
- No Delays On Human Conversation
Nevertheless, we exist to offer our depth in sly, shallow ways. Something Facebook and Twitter help us do perfectly. With this in mind, it is clear that while Skype may really want you to pick up the virtual phone and call your parents, it would not be too upset if you bypass and send them an IM instead — as long as you are using Skype, of course.