Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What is the opposite of product placement?

I'm a big fan of Chuck, NBCs story about a member of the Geek Squad who accidentally turns into an CIA super-spy with a computer in his brain. While watching the latest episode, the following conversation occurred between Chuck and his sidekick Morgan.

Chuck: Does the store have any RUSH CDs?
Morgan: Don't worry about that, I've got them all on my Zune.
Chuck (unbelieving): You have a Zune?
Morgan: No, just kidding. I'll get them off my iPod.

For a split second, I thought the Microsoft marketers had done a great job of product placement. But doesn't the Zune reference seem out of place? Then the writers hit us with the punchline - the Zune was the joke.

It is amazing to me how well Apple has done in convincing everyone who wants a portable media player that they really want an iPod. If you look at this from a pure feature level, the equivalent Zune has more features and more battery life for less money. But it's just a joke.

Do you know anyone who has a Zune?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Okay I will bite. I have a Zune and use it all the time. Technically my kids use it (to watch Media Center shows in the car). I've used it jogging but found it bounced a bit too much. It has tons of features, but the only thing I use is the sync with media center for the TV shows. It's great on long trips. If my iPhone would sync as easy I would ditch the Zune...