Microsoft's first big anti-Apple TV ads were just revealed

Microsoft and its top Windows PC partners, including Intel, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, have officially unveiled the "PC Does What?" ad campaign, first reported yesterday. This marks the first time Microsoft and Intel have rallied PC manufactureres together for a single ad campaign.

These ads are meant to highlight all of the cool things that modern PCs can do, including touchscreens and high-resolution video, in a marketing push to get you to upgrade your ancient computer to something a little more modern.

And if you decide to go with a new PC versus choosing to go with an Apple MacBook, so much the better.

The ads feature the almost-immediately annoying catchphrase "PC Does What," as people seem constantly incredulous at the things people can do with their PCs.  

Here, take a look:

You'll be able to see the full ads come October 19th. But in some clips previewed by the five companies in an official webcast, we got a taste of what the "PC Does What?" campaign will look like.

In the ad above, a helicopter pilot incredulously shouts "PC Does What?" when his copilot blasts Kenny Loggins' seminal "Danger Zone" on his laptop during an at-sea rescue. In what looked like that same ad, a rescue worker flips her laptop over into a tablet, sparking a cry of "PC Does What?"

In that webcast, marketing execs from all the companies involved revealed that this will be a six-week "burst" at first, with the possibility for extension. It'll involve specifically-targeted ads for markets like business and gaming. 

These ads come amid a shrinking PC market, as people opt to go longer and longer before buying a new machine, opting instead to do most of their computing on their smartphone. They'll air on TV, with attendant print and online ads, too. 

The big push here, then, is to accelerate some market movement. And apparently, the PC manufacturers are scared enough to band together for the first time ever.

But a lot of ad agencies, at least, think this "PC Does What?" campaign comes off as "desperate," reports DigiDay.

"Not knowing what a PC does is a failure of all the players involved to stay relevant," Ted Florea, who leads strategy at ad agency PNYC, told DigiDay.  

Still, on that official webcast, all five marketing execs rebutted claims of a "dying" PC market, affirming that the Windows 10 launch and Intel's new chips have led to a resurgence in the industry.

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