When Video Marketing Goes Wrong: Microsoft's Errors

Have you heard the phrase, "any publicity is good publicity"? I think Microsoft has managed to prove that wrong with a single well intention, but ill conceived, video.

PC World has an article describing a video that is supposed to promote a privacy feature in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).

Unfortunately, any message the video is trying to get across gets overshadowed by a young lady projectile vomiting onto the floor. Then onto her boyfriend/husband after he slips and falls in the previous puke puddle.

Then one or two more barfing bouts just to make the point. I guess.

At any rate, the number of complaints about the video reached some sort of critical threshold that caused MS to actually pull the video from their official distribution channels.

The PC world article still has a link to it. It's really not for the weak of stomach.

Microsoft has had some video blunders before (like the Jerry Seinfled/Bill Gates ads) so they'll likely just brush this one off too and carry on.

But could your business survive this sort of gaffe? Be sure that when you're creating video for your business that you are in tune with your audience. Try to do more for them instead of doing things to them. Like making them sick.