Music, culture, and the inside scoop from Cesar Menendez,
a Microsoft employee working on Zune - Microsoft's new music project.

July 02, 2007

Latest Video Posted to Zune-Arts

Hope everybody had a great weekend! And no, I didn't go to NYC to buy an iPhone ;) Anyways, I'm back from NYC and Bozeman MT. Over the weekend, lots of folks who watch Adult Swim over the weekend, you might have seen this video:

What do you think?

 |  Monday, July 02, 2007 9:53 PM  |  33 Comments

Comments

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Nelson

Maybe I'm not the most creative guy in the world..but I don't get it =/

Still pretty cool looking, if anything will make some people look up "Zune" to see what the hell it is =)

Jaxim

All I have to ask is what drugs were the people on who made and designed this video?

I like the animation but I'd rather see ads that make an understandable point.

ray

Hey cesar, I havn't commented in a while.

I like that ad, it's very fresh and different but to be honest I'm not sure if it's effective enough. It simply doesn't tell you what a zune is or what cool things it does.

Anyway I was thinking about a firmware feature that I'd really like for the zune. How about some kind of basic rss reader for it that automatically grabs the info for your bookmarked sites everytime you enter your wifi hotspot and save it onto the hard drive? And for it not to just get the headlines but the actual whole article that you can read in full on the zune on your way to work etc.

Mark

Cesar: I have a feature request... for the blog itself. How about posting a link to the blog in each post? That way when I want to see the comments and such for a post I see on my RSS reader gadget in vista, I can just click the link.

Jade Robbins

Crazy you came to Bozeman. I'm the guy trying to spread the zune word here as much as possible! If I may inquire, what were you doing here in Bozeangeles?

Albert

The "things" that come out after the bombs go off, look a lot like the designs that were used in the Windows XP commercials.

patrick

Worthy try, but cluttered, jumpy, and too long.

bobado

well its all for our own interpretation but it would seem to me it portrayed some competition which as a result creates some fancy creations.  Somebody has a little mess up and the other has to save them.  This is very interesting as it was shown the same weekend the iPhone exploded onto the scene.

Iced_Eagle

While it's a creative commercial, it doesn't really do well to talk about the Zune or anything like that.

I mean, all you see is a Zune logo at the end. Just having the logo show up isn't enough IMO.

Maybe I'm just missing the point, but I'd rather see some ads that show what the Zune does, why it's better, such like that.

Jonathan Carl Broderick

err... What was that all about?

Michael

The ads ok, I guess. But is it really an ad? Is ZuneArts Zune's ad thing, or is it just a random assortment of arts? I think Zune should focus on the music side of life, considering they make PMP's, instead of artsy creative types of things. I think you should stop branding them as ads promoting the Zune, and instead work on trying to make your own ads.

Plus the fact that it looks like something from Cartoon Network doesn't please me.

bob e

I was bored by it and the only I watched it to the end is because I hoping to see Zune in the ad.  

Had I not know it was for Zune I'd have changed channels a few seconds into the clip.

John in S.Florida

I love the imagery and it fits nicely into what you would expect to see on AdultSwim.  Anywhere else...no way.

Toph

Judging by the comments, it seems there's still a lot of confusion as to what exactly the Zune Arts spots are. (Notice that Cesar never called it an "ad.")

So, for additional clarification:

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/05/09/just-to-clarify.aspx

And for those of you wanting a spot that actually shows what Zune is, well:

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/05/08/new-zune-tv-spot-tonight.aspx

:)

As for the original issue--I like it. Kind of wacky, but nifty. :)

You guys should have a Zune-Arts playlist on the Marketplace. And offer a .ZIP compilation of all the videos on Zune-Arts.net. :)

damien

Clever. Very clever. The Endless Cookie and The Hearts ads are still my top 2 faves, but this has a very nice feel to it.dA couple of us watched this ad at work and we all thought it was really nice. We all commented on the blending of 2-D and 3-D animation, which was unexpected. I'd certainly stop and watch the spot if I saw it on TV, because it's unlike anything currently on TV. But, then again, I did go to an art college... :)

I agree with the others here that these ads don't highlight Zune features... but, if I recall correctly, they aren't supposed to: They were meant to be an artist's interpretation of "sharing" or something like that. It would be really nice to see the new Zune ads (that show the product) use some of these artists' creativity, since they make very nice and very original stuff.

sportsunit

whats cracking Ceez??? Good to see the videos still being cranked out.  The launch ones were the best though....

Stefan

I love it.

Bernardo

The videos at Zune-Arts are not exactly meant to directly promote Zune. Some of them have obvious parallels with "joining the social" with somebody, but the real reason they're there is because Microsoft wants to give artists a space to express themselves. The artists don't make the animations to promote Zune, they do it just as a form of self-expression. Microsoft is trying to reach out to that artsy indie crowd with Zune to create sort of an "underground" movement.

damien

I have a request, C: Is it possible to get an interview with one of the design companies that created these spots? I'd love to hear where they're coming from, how they came up with the idea, how they chose the music... etc.

Or there may already be an interview up someplace and I am overlooking it.

Sw0rdf1sh

I really liked that vid/ad.  

I like how they were working together after the first sequence and it was composed nicely.

How many times do you see people shooting at each other and then helping each other out?

Esko

Thats a pretty cool ad.  I relaly like all the Zune ads I've seen.  Have a great look and feel to them.

Danette 4 Zune

Hmmmmm ... I'm not sure what to make of that! It certainly is different :-0

Jaxim

True, Zune Arts doesn't necessarily have to promote the Zune, but since the video was used on a TV spot, it should be something that does promote the Zune well. I definitely think the animation was fitting for the adult swim target audience. My favorite of all of the ads and zune-art videos is till the Cookie video. That video should be used for a TV spot. It looks different from any other commercial, but it makes a better point.

Freakwncy

Toph is right...Zune-Art is something totally different from your normal commerical... I think people want to see more advertisments -C. I think something as simple as 3 people sitting around letting to their MP3 players  and one asks another "what are you listening too?" and one "beaming" the other Zune holder the song and then saying "Sorry, man!" to the other guy w/o one as he looks down at his/her MP3 player trying to figure out what's wrong w/ it... IMO. Other then that... the team is doing great.

GIVE EM A HIGH 5 FOR ME! THEY ROCK!!

dickwelsh

Viva Voce is awesome!  If you have a Zune Pass go and download their album "Get Your Blood Sucked Out" right now!

Nick

TiredFan

As beautiful as that "Ad" is, its lost on the average Joe withe the attention span of a goldfish.

Make ads that show the device, show its feature in brief and get right to the point. By all mean be creative, but sell to the lowest common denominator.

When your brand has been fully established and you have a respectable amount of sold units, THEN you can branch out into more abstract ads.

tippy

it made me want to stomp my zune. just awful, i understand that is geared toward 12 year old girls in the early 70s. ugh quit flirting with the idea and go ahead and make a barbie zune and get it over with

Pierre

I love that song. Know anywhere I can get it free?

Omar Egan

Its strange enough that it may just work. I would have used the Zune Brand a little more in the ad.

V

It reminds me of one of Jonathan Bach's books (...Livingston Seagull, or other?). The seagull pushes the envelope and dies in flight, but continues flying seamlessly into another life.

switzerblog

Seems the folks who don't like this vid see it as an ad that'll be shown on CNN - it's perfect for the Adult Swim crowd, which Cesar's post clearly indicates is where it played.  

Zune Insider

Ok, I officially have a new favorite video on Zune-arts , mostly because of this one uses What Made Milwaukee

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About admin

I'm Cesar Menendez. I left the Xbox marketing world for Microsoft's new foray into music - Zune. Community, cool videos, music, discovering new music - these are things I love. In the past I wrote music reviews for RealNetworks, and before that I volunteered at KCMU (now KEXP). Get in touch w/ me using this email: AskZune (then type the at symbol) microsoft.com (please no solicitors)
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