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Microsoft's Windows 95 Ad Campaign Resonates with Conservatives

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Microsoft's Windows 95 ad campaign has made a significant impact on television viewers, particularly among conservative consumers, according to a recent Ad Track poll published in USA TODAY. The campaign, created by Wieden & Kennedy, incorporates the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" and features everyday people interacting with Windows 95 applications. The ads were viewed more frequently by white consumers than by people of color, with 19% of white adults seeing the ads a lot, compared to 7% of blacks and 4% of Hispanic consumers.

Key Takeaways:

  • Twenty-one percent of TV viewers who had seen Microsoft's Windows 95 ad campaign three times or more said they liked it "a lot."
  • The ads were most effective with consumers who call themselves politically conservative, with 45% of conservatives calling the ads "very effective" compared to 31% of liberals.
  • Only 7% of respondents "disliked the ads," indicating a generally positive reception of the campaign.
  • The ads were viewed more frequently by white consumers than by people of color, with significant disparities in ad recall among different demographic groups.
  • The survey asked respondents whether they recall a certain campaign, if they like the campaign and how effective they feel the campaign is.
  • The poll was conducted jointly with Louis Harris and Associates, a leading market research firm.

Statistics:

  • 21% of TV viewers who had seen Microsoft's Windows 95 ad campaign three times or more said they liked it "a lot."
  • 45% of conservatives called the ads "very effective" compared to 31% of liberals.
  • 7% of respondents "disliked the ads."
  • 19% of white adults had seen the ads a lot, compared to 7% of blacks and 4% of Hispanic consumers.
  • The margin of error for the poll was plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
  • Results are based on a nationwide poll of 408 adults who had seen the Microsoft ads three or more times.

Sources:

  • USA TODAY, October 23, 1995
  • USA TODAY Ad Track, weekly supplement in the Money section
  • Louis Harris and Associates, market research firm
  • PRNewswire, October 23, 1995

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