I disagree. For the last few years, the only Microsoft ads worthy of note have been viral-video "zany" or vaguely cribbing Apple. Which I don't see in these at all. They're stylish, well directed and while they might be too oblique, they personify Apple's reputation for high service quality.
The "celebrity" iPhone ads deserve the real scorn. Apple should be picking aspirational creative people - leading edge musicians, hackers, writers, etc. But instead they're attaching their brand to a bunch of fading actors (and Martin Scorcese)? Apple has people that should know better. That's worrying.
I agree that the ads are scornworthy, but you can't call John Malkovich or Samuel L. Jackson "fading", they are both as close to timeless as you're going to get.
I like those actors too, even though neither are surefire promises that a movie is great (seen the Star Wars prequels or Red lately?). More to the point - why do I care about how they interact with Siri? I guess Apple is subtly implying that if you use Siri, you are but one degree of separation from famous/cool people. Cute, but a sad lowering of the bar for a company that once looked for customers that were trying to change the world.
The "celebrity" iPhone ads deserve the real scorn. Apple should be picking aspirational creative people - leading edge musicians, hackers, writers, etc. But instead they're attaching their brand to a bunch of fading actors (and Martin Scorcese)? Apple has people that should know better. That's worrying.