Microsoft’s new Seinfeld & Bill Gates commercials have been widely panned. Presumably the first two salvos in a $300 Million ad campaign launched to soften and redefine Microsoft’s image, it would seem questionable whether years of consumer experience with Microsoft as the consummate powerbroker can be erased, regardless of the question of the ultimate quality/enjoyability [...]

A little while ago I told you about Apple’s carefully crafted Archetype Branding of Steve Jobs as a "Wizard of Oz"-like character, the magician who disappears behind the curtains and reappears with new, ever-more-amazing wonders of technology.
Since then, there have been a number of developments that both prove the power of this form of marketing, [...]

Apple’s second-generation iPhone 3G is set to hit the market Friday to the by now customary camping lines and fanfare, and, more importantly, high sales expectations.
And while it’s fun to partake in all of the speculation and hand-wringing over specific features (iPhone App store, enterprise IT compatibility, battery-life), the truly important underlying dynamics can often [...]