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Microsoft Paid NFL $400 Million To Use Surface, But Announcers Call Them iPads

Soulskill posted about 2 months ago | from the free-advertising dept.

Microsoft 405

mpicpp sends this news from Business Insider: Prior to the season, Microsoft and the NFL struck a 5-year, $400 million deal with one of the major components being that the Microsoft Surface would become "the official tablet of the NFL," with coaches and players using the Surface on the sidelines during games. But Microsoft and the league ran into a problem during week one of the season when at least two television announcers mistakenly referred to the tablets as iPads, giving a huge rival some unexpected exposure. The biggest blunder for the league came during the nationally televised Monday Night Football game when ESPN's Trent Dilfer joked about how long it took Cardinals assistant head coach Tom Moore to "learn how to use the iPad to scroll through the pictures." In a separate incident, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints was spotted by Fox commentator John Lynch using a Surface on the sideline. Lynch remarked that Brees was "not watching movies on his iPad.

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Hahahaha (3, Funny)

Shaman (1148) | about 2 months ago | (#47879349)

That's rich.

Re:Hahahaha (2, Funny)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879401)

What did you expect from retards?

Re:Hahahaha (5, Informative)

phrostie (121428) | about 2 months ago | (#47879817)

I use an android tablet to control and display timed exposures(or digitally zoom planetary objects) with my telescope/camera at star parties.
everyone always assumes it's an ipad.
ipad has become a generic term for a tablet.

the NFL thing is funny, but not surprising.

Re:Hahahaha (4, Interesting)

i kan reed (749298) | about 2 months ago | (#47879967)

Wait. You run with a crowd nerdy enough to regularly attend star parties, but none of them are nerdy enough to recognize an operating system?

football can cause brain damage (3, Funny)

Joe_Dragon (2206452) | about 2 months ago | (#47879357)

and a lot of the Announcers are former players

Re:football can cause brain damage (3, Insightful)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879519)

Or maybe they just don't give a fuck whether it's an iPad, Surface or some kind of Android tablet.

You know, just like the rest of us...

Re:football can cause brain damage (5, Funny)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879705)

Most of "the rest of us" do give a fuck if it's an iPad or a not-iPad :)

Re:football can cause brain damage (2, Insightful)

i kan reed (749298) | about 2 months ago | (#47879981)

I don't think that was a slashdot poster "rest of us" but a whole world "rest of us".

Re:football can cause brain damage (1)

ArcadeMan (2766669) | about 2 months ago | (#47879995)

Yes, absolutely. And did you know that football can cause brain damage and a lot of the announcers are former players?

That's nothing (5, Funny)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879377)

That's nothing, I keep posting about the iPhone 6 on Facebook and people continually refer to it as the Nexus 5! Joke's on them.

Re:That's nothing (2)

slimshady76 (3752059) | about 2 months ago | (#47879597)

I see what you did there... Well played sir, well played...

Re:That's nothing (1)

Enfixed (2423494) | about 2 months ago | (#47879721)

Of all the days to not have mod points... Got a good morning chuckle out of this one. :)

Unterminated quotation (-1)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879385)

So, everything I say now is also part of what Lynch said?" The Anonymous commenter added: "When you point out the mistakes of others but make them yourself, is that hypocrisy?"

Re:Unterminated quotation (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879517)

When you point out the mistakes of others but make them yourself, is that hypocrisy?

Not really. If you add that only an idiot would make those mistakes it's only hypocrisy if you also claim that you yourself isn't an idiot.
If you point out your own mistakes as often as you point out those of others that only makes you a critic, not a hypocrite.

To be fair... (5, Funny)

robinsonne (952701) | about 2 months ago | (#47879387)

To be fair, have you listened to some of what NFL announcers say these days? Most of it is pretty damn stupid, even when they're keeping their remarks to football. I consider it lucky if they can tell the difference between a run play and a pass play...telling the difference between 2 gadgets? Nope.

Re:To be fair... (4, Funny)

wiredlogic (135348) | about 2 months ago | (#47879525)

NFL: One of the few industries where smooth talking idiots can rake in millions spewing bullshit.

Re:To be fair... (4, Insightful)

operagost (62405) | about 2 months ago | (#47879645)

One of the others is the cable news industry.

Re:To be fair... (4, Funny)

msauve (701917) | about 2 months ago | (#47879667)

Don't forget the US Congress.

Re:To be fair... (5, Insightful)

ArcadeMan (2766669) | about 2 months ago | (#47880005)

The U.S. Congress is not an industry, it's organized crime. I'm surprised the mafia hasn't sued them for unfair competition yet.

Re:To be fair... (5, Funny)

Chris Mattern (191822) | about 2 months ago | (#47879657)

NFL: One of the many industries where smooth talking idiots can rake in millions spewing bullshit.

Fixed that for you.

Re:To be fair... (2)

gman003 (1693318) | about 2 months ago | (#47879703)

NFL: One of the few industries where smooth talking idiots can rake in millions spewing bullshit.

Few?

Re:To be fair... (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879923)

Believe me, it happens in the IT industry as well. Come to think of it, I'm not sure what industry it doesn't happen in.

I should probably just say to hell with productivity and just start hacking charisma.

Re:To be fair... (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879575)

Keep in mind that only the best and brightest players go on to become television personalities. Also, anybody who gives more money to those greedy NFL bastards... ugh... I haven't the words....

Re:To be fair... (1)

Noah Haders (3621429) | about 2 months ago | (#47879939)

use your words! or an nfl player will come over and punch you unconscious in an elevator then drag you out by your hair.

Re:To be fair... (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879621)

Producy placement is ONE part of a larger deal. Yeesh...

Re:To be fair... (5, Funny)

MachineShedFred (621896) | about 2 months ago | (#47879687)

If you want to really be fair, if the announcer would have said "Brees isn't watching movies on his surface" about 98% of the audience would have said "WTF is a 'surface'? Did the announcer just have a stroke and use the wrong word?"

Re:To be fair... (1)

TheRaven64 (641858) | about 2 months ago | (#47879911)

How about 'tablet'? Coming through Heathrow security, I get told to take laptops, iPads, and Kindles out of my bag. I guess any brand of laptop has to come out, but tablets and ebook readers only do if they're made by Apple or Amazon...

Re:To be fair... (4, Interesting)

Talderas (1212466) | about 2 months ago | (#47879955)

They say you can't carry liquids on a plane..... try carrying on a bottle of ice.

Mod headline +5 Funny! (-1)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879395)

n/t

How much! (5, Interesting)

MrL0G1C (867445) | about 2 months ago | (#47879431)

Am I the only person here who thinks MS are nuts for having paid so much for a product placement. Surely $400,000,000 could have been better spent through other advertising methods. $400m seems like at least 10x too much.

They expected that product placement would lead to millions of extra sales of an expensive item!!!

How much! (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879533)

Think about the super bowl. If MS is already in place they don't have to spend 200 mil for a prime advertisement their product is all over the place already and all season.It's actually cheap from this perspective.

Re:How much! (1)

sjames (1099) | about 2 months ago | (#47879983)

Yes, but by then, the coaches will be using them primarily as butt warmers.

Re:How much! (4, Interesting)

nine-times (778537) | about 2 months ago | (#47879589)

Yeah, I'd be suspicious that Microsoft could buy $400 million worth of Surface tablets from themselves and hand them out on the street, and it would increase adoption more than this deal will.

Re:How much! (1)

peragrin (659227) | about 2 months ago | (#47879617)

Well Microsoft did write off 900 million dollars I tablets last year. Maybe they tried to get some of that back.

Re:How much! (4, Insightful)

Rich0 (548339) | about 2 months ago | (#47879859)

Indeed, if they randomly distributed 2M surfaces for free throughout the population it would probably cost them about the same, and it would immediately create a demand for applications, it would get their product in front of consumers, etc. That would seem like a far better investment if you really wanted to blow this kind of cash.

Re:How much! (1)

Flavianoep (1404029) | about 2 months ago | (#47879611)

I've been wondering, how much of that figure accounts for the cost of the tablets themselves?

Re:How much! (2)

140Mandak262Jamuna (970587) | about 2 months ago | (#47879757)

28 teams, 60 players + 40 coaches per team, 2800 tablets at the most. Round it up to 3000. Cost to microsoft per tablet around 300$, 900K max.

Yes it is a lot of money (5, Informative)

benjymouse (756774) | about 2 months ago | (#47879719)

It is not just for "product placement", though.

From Microsofts press release [microsoft.com] on the deal:

The agreement provides Microsoft with the rights to create exclusive interactive experiences through products such as Xbox One and Surface, transforming the way fans will experience the NFL in the years to come. The NFL on Xbox will provide fans with an all-new viewing experience through innovations around Skype and Xbox SmartGlass; an all-new, innovative fantasy football solution allowing fans to view players and live competition side by side on a single TV screen; and a personalized NFL destination featuring information about the players, teams and games fans care about most. Xbox also retains the exclusive rights to extend these interactive experiences to tablets, enabling fans to use Xbox SmartGlass technology to enhance game day.

So MS has also licensed the rights to use the NFL brand, clips etc. (could be 3D instant replay on the xbox, streaming over Skype?).

And exclusive rights for tablets. Could be a driver for Surface uptake.

And also this:

As part of the partnership, Surface by Microsoft branding will appear on NFL sidelines in unique ways, including on the hoods of the official on-field NFL instant replay stations. As part of the relationship, Microsoft will be granted the following designations:

The instant review stations are in view during some of the most tense situations of a game, with a lot of attention. Surely, that is worth money.

400.000.000 is a lot of money. I have no idea if it is too expensive or not. But it does cover more than the right to equip the sidelines with tablets.

Re:Yes it is a lot of money (1)

GlennC (96879) | about 2 months ago | (#47879915)

The instant review stations are in view during some of the most tense situations of a game, with a lot of attention.

I don't know what channels you're watching the game on, but where I watch, the review station gets a couple of seconds of camera time at best. It's actually rather rare to see the booth at all.

Most of the on-air view is the replays themselves, with the announcers giving their interpretation.

Re:How much! (2)

jbolden (176878) | about 2 months ago | (#47879865)

I agree with you it seems like way too much. I'd want to know about the duration. Is this something like a 1 year or 10 year contract? Does it include things like free promotions from players: winning quarterback on why he did so well, "I always carry my Microsoft Surface with me in my car so I can study new plays to use against next week's team".

I do get the idea. We know from Mac vs. PC studies ( example http://cdn.redmondpie.com/wp-c... [redmondpie.com] ) Windows users are: less liberal, older, more conventional in their tastes, late adopters. Which I suspect correlates fairly strongly with people who would be influenced by football and don't own an iPad but could afford one. "The NFL can afford any tablet it wants and they pick Microsoft. Sure Apple is good for artists and college students but the safe / conventional / practical choice is Microsoft"....

I don't think it is likely to be successful because people aren't that stupid. The reality is that Windows 8 is more innovative than iOS, less practical, less conventional and quite iconoclastic in terms of the userbase. The advertising and the product conflict.

Microsoft has the problem of trying to be all things to all people. Not an easy place to be.

Re:How much! (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879867)

I don't think it was too much actually. Even last season, the analysts on the halftime show each had a surface in front of them. This year, they have put stickers on them the back of them that clearly label them as a Microsoft Surface (before, when they were Surface Pro 2 machines, they seemed to be an anonymous black slate). Since the placement isn't just on the sidelines and is right there in your face on the halftime show, it is probably a pretty good deal for MS. Now, they need to have those analysts do more than simply have it sit in front of them. They are probably just using them as teleprompters now. They should have them at least pretend to control something with them - for example when expounding on some play, they could say, "here, let's take a look at that" and manipulate the Surface (and the producer would show the play). But as it stands they just sit there. Just like they did last year when nobody who didn't already have one noticed.

generic® (5, Insightful)

tverbeek (457094) | about 2 months ago | (#47879435)

Do they wipe the screens of their ipads with kleenexes and q-tips, which they keep with the band-aids and aspirin next to a refrigerator full of cokes, in the room where they make xeroxes, next to the escalator?

Re:generic® (2)

Rik Sweeney (471717) | about 2 months ago | (#47879545)

Some of your generics are American based, and I ended up having to stop my Hoovering to Google what they are.

Re:generic® (1)

gunner_von_diamond (3461783) | about 2 months ago | (#47879581)

which they keep with the band-aids and aspirin

*which they keep wth the band-aids and aleve©

Re:generic® (1)

oodaloop (1229816) | about 2 months ago | (#47879659)

No, but I did build an ipad out of legos.

Re:generic® (1)

jbolden (176878) | about 2 months ago | (#47879727)

I wrote the same comment below but your's is wittier.

Re:generic® (1)

Noah Haders (3621429) | about 2 months ago | (#47879997)

if he was the thread originator, and you wrote your comment below, then surely you read his comment before posting your own!

Re:generic® (2)

tsqr (808554) | about 2 months ago | (#47879731)

I don't know why this got modded "Troll". The mis-naming of those tablets is not necessarily a good thing for Apple. When your brand name becomes commonly used as a generic name for a class of products, it dilutes the value of the trademark; IP attorneys refer to it as "genericide". Kleenex, Q-Tips, Band-Aids and Aspirin are great examples of this. Now excuse me, I have to go google how to photoshop some pictures.

Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (5, Interesting)

Albanach (527650) | about 2 months ago | (#47879439)

The last thing Apple wants is for any tablet to be identified as and referred to as an iPad. For their laptops, you get the huge light up apple logo to make sure everyone looking at you knows just what you're using.

The last thing Apple's marketing office will want is for anyone who sees a tablet to refer to it as an iPad. I don't see the name become generic at any point soon, but it's a big fear of many companies. With Apple so reliant on branding and recognition I'd expect them to be more concerned than most.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

dingen (958134) | about 2 months ago | (#47879521)

The last thing Apple wants is for any tablet to be identified as and referred to as an iPad.

Unless people will go to the store and ask for "an iPad" even when they don't specifically mean the tablet by Apple.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

LoverOfJoy (820058) | about 2 months ago | (#47879671)

Unless the store employee is equally oblivious and just leads them to the tablet section (perhaps to a rack of android tablets).

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

jbolden (176878) | about 2 months ago | (#47879897)

In practice the tablet market has completely forked.

Android owns the $75-150 market mostly in Asia where people use tablets as a form of personal television with some internet features
Apples owns the $350+ market where people use tables to run tablet based software.

There is (in terms of tens of millions of units) no middle of the market.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

GIL_Dude (850471) | about 2 months ago | (#47879913)

That has actually already happened for a lot of people. My daughter has a Nexus 7 tablet that she uses with a keyboard case to take notes in her college classes. Many people will come up and say, "oh, I like your iPad setup". Or "Which iPad is that?". Similarly on radio shows such as Leo Laporte's "The Tech Guy" (which is generally for "normals" - the not so technical folks who need help with tech), callers will often tell Leo that they want advice on picking out an "iPad" when they clearly mean they would like some sort of tablet device. It isn't to the point of Kleenex or Q-Tip, but there are quite a few people out there to whom any tablet device is an "iPad".

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

pla (258480) | about 2 months ago | (#47879551)

I don't see the name become generic at any point soon

You should re-read TFS, then. This entire topic centers on exactly that - "iPad" has become a generic term for any tablet, just as iPod has become a generic for any portable music player.

And I have just one thought on that: "Ha, ha!"


/ As long as they don't have ultra-high-tech proprietary rounded corners. That would just go too far.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

gnasher719 (869701) | about 2 months ago | (#47879679)

You should re-read TFS, then. This entire topic centers on exactly that - "iPad" has become a generic term for any tablet, just as iPod has become a generic for any portable music player.

No, the situation is different. The reporters didn't see that someone was using a Microsoft tablet and called it by a generic name "iPad". They saw someone using a Microsoft tablet aka Surface and mistakenly believed it was an Apple tablet aka iPad. If reporters start saying "NFL is using iPads made by Microsoft" or "NFL is using an iPad Surface" assuming there is a classic iPad, iPad Retina, iPad Air, and now an iPad Surface, you may have a point.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

Anna Merikin (529843) | about 2 months ago | (#47879661)

I agree. What's more, Apple might have to press hard on the common use of the term "iPad" to refer to tablets in general. Bayer long ago lost the exclusive rights to the word aspirin by not enforcing its exclusivity. 3M took great pains in the 70s to make clear "Scotch" did not become another word for "transparent", as in tape; Coke, McDonal's, et al. have enforced such. Now it may be Apple's turn.
Oh, and as for MS :"What goes around, comes around." Whatever that means....

iPad, mPad, gPad, aPad (1)

EzInKy (115248) | about 2 months ago | (#47879675)

I'm already hearing people refer to these things as "Pads". The most important thing is that people understand what a Pad is. The individual device qualities and pricing will differentate themselves.

Re:iPad, mPad, gPad, aPad (3, Insightful)

N!k0N (883435) | about 2 months ago | (#47879843)

no no, they're talking about the PADD.

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (1)

93 Escort Wagon (326346) | about 2 months ago | (#47879787)

The last thing Apple wants is for any tablet to be identified as and referred to as an iPad.

Such as when a live-mic'ed coach on the sideline picks up one of the Surface tablets, mutters an expletive, and says "why is this f*cking iPad so f*ckin' heavy?"

Re:Or, Apple could be fearful of comoditization (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879819)

The last thing Apple wants is for any tablet to be identified as and referred to as an iPad.

Especially if they are blue-screening on the sidelines during a televised game.

It's pretty impressive (1)

blueshift_1 (3692407) | about 2 months ago | (#47879457)

Hate them or love them, apple has done an incredible job of making themselves the de facto device in several categories. Certainly most slashdotters know the broad categories of tech, but for most people they just know the most discussed one or two. Apple fanboys are still making themselves heard.

Re:It's pretty impressive (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879595)

Similar to how most people still refer to a copier as a Xerox no matter the brand.

Re:It's pretty impressive (1)

Enfixed (2423494) | about 2 months ago | (#47879837)

Disclaimer: Android Fanboy

While they may have been the "de facto" device in 2011, it looks like they were overrun by all the various Android tables a while ago [statista.com] and are still in market share decline. For a single device compared against all others they may have the most share, but not by OS. With Apple just catching up to Samsung’s 2012 products this trend will probably continue.

Trademark genericisation (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879473)

So if Apple do not challenge this or complain to the NFL, does that mean they risk losing their trademark protection for the term iPad under genericised trademark rules because, as demonstrated by these people using the term, it can be shown that it has come to mean "a tablet computing device"?

$400 million (0)

mwvdlee (775178) | about 2 months ago | (#47879477)

$400 million.
Just to have the NFL officially use your brand of tablet.
No advertising seconds, no "official phone", "official supplier" or anything, just "official tablet".
Tens of thousands of times more money than the vast majority of us will ever have at one point.
For just one sports league.
Take a moment to think about that.

Re:$400 million (3, Interesting)

OzPeter (195038) | about 2 months ago | (#47879539)

Take a moment to think about that.

If you think all that is bad, then consider that the NFL is a non-profit organization. Should the NFL continue to enjoy non-profit status? [cbsnews.com]

Re:$400 million (1)

bws111 (1216812) | about 2 months ago | (#47879697)

Not this stupid thing again. Yes, 'The NFL' is non-profit. However, 'The NFL' does not keep any of the money, the money goes to the teams, which are NOT non-profit and do pay taxes.

Re:$400 million (4, Informative)

benjymouse (756774) | about 2 months ago | (#47879775)

Just to have the NFL officially use your brand of tablet.

What gave you that idea? Did you just pull it out of thin air?

It covers more than that. Read the MS press release on the deal:

The agreement provides Microsoft with the rights to create exclusive interactive experiences through products such as Xbox One and Surface, transforming the way fans will experience the NFL in the years to come. The NFL on Xbox will provide fans with an all-new viewing experience through innovations around Skype and Xbox SmartGlass; an all-new, innovative fantasy football solution allowing fans to view players and live competition side by side on a single TV screen; and a personalized NFL destination featuring information about the players, teams and games fans care about most. Xbox also retains the exclusive rights to extend these interactive experiences to tablets, enabling fans to use Xbox SmartGlass technology to enhance game day.

So, basically also the license to use NFL content on XBox and tablets (I see no mention of live content - but it could be buried in the "xbox experience")

No advertising seconds, no "official phone", "official supplier" or anything, just "official tablet".

Wrong. From the press release (see above):

As part of the partnership, Surface by Microsoft branding will appear on NFL sidelines in unique ways, including on the hoods of the official on-field NFL instant replay stations. As part of the relationship, Microsoft will be granted the following designations:

  Xbox remains “The Official Game Console of the NFL” and will also become “The Official Interactive Video Entertainment Console.”

  Microsoft is “The Official Sideline Technology Sponsor of the NFL.”

  Surface by Microsoft and Windows are “The Official Tablet and PC Operating System of the NFL.”

Re:$400 million (1)

mwvdlee (775178) | about 2 months ago | (#47879869)

Yeah, I noticed after posting the comment that the summary was completely wrong.
But in my defence; how could I have known that a summary on Slashdot would be completely wrong?

hard knocks (hbo) too (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879505)

living in Atlanta I've watched some of hbo's behind the scenes training camp series since it's about the Falcons this year & Mike Smith (head coach) told the players to review the material on their iPads in his post game locker room speech. they didn't really have a good angle/shot of them so it never donned on me that they might not actually be iPads...

funny anecdote: I got the kids Touches for making straight As all yr & after fighting through the crown & waiting at the Apple store we were walking back through mall & passed the Microsoft store which was completely empty save for six uniformed employees so I took/posted a picture & commented: "I feel sorry for the Apple geniuses - they actually have to deal w/customers..."

The NFL? (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879507)

What is the NFL?

Re:The NFL? (4, Funny)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879635)

The NFL is an american, tax-exempt organization that gathers for religious events every Sunday. Except for the summer which they take off. The events are held in temples larger than the Egyptian pyramids, and they are built and paid for by local governments using public money. In return for their service they are showered with large sums of money by nearly every segment of society, and their members are given special privileges that make them immune to some of the normal laws of society. The downside for the members, though, is that their activities are medically dangerous, and they usually are only allowed to take part in them for one to two years before their health degrades and are tossed to the side. In short, it is like any other large american corporation.

The NFL? (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879649)

A bunch of millionaires that run with an oblong brown ball from one end of the field to the other.
Also known for running dog fights and beating their wives on their off time, but if they are good enough at running with the ball that part is ignored.

Apple vs Microsoft (1)

jeffclay (1077679) | about 2 months ago | (#47879553)

I'm waiting to read the article about Apple sueing Microsoft now because the users can't distinguish their products apart (having round corners, a touch screen, and all that).

Don't worry (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879563)

They factored all the shitty articles like this into the price. Well worth it for brand recognition.

Scotch tape (1)

jbolden (176878) | about 2 months ago | (#47879577)

iPad has reached that point that Kleenex (facial tissue) or Scotch tape (clear adhesive tape). People can say "I want an iPad but not one of those expensive Apple ones" and mean they want a tablet type device. I've never used "clear adhesive tape" in conversation even when I knew the brand wasn't Scotch. I'll still grab a box of Puff's brand Kleenex. Apple is so dominant in tablets that's the way this plays out.

OTOH I suspect the announcers will just correct themselves on air and give Microsoft a good 20 second free commercial to make up for the mistake next week.

Re:Scotch tape (2)

gnasher719 (869701) | about 2 months ago | (#47879641)

iPad has reached that point that Kleenex (facial tissue) or Scotch tape (clear adhesive tape). People can say "I want an iPad but not one of those expensive Apple ones" and mean they want a tablet type device.

I'd say this is nowhere near. The generic name is "tablet" and not "iPad". And the generic name for a music player is "MP3 player", not iPod, even when a so-called MP3 player might be used to play mostly AAC or other non-MP3 formats.

Re:Scotch tape (1)

Overzeetop (214511) | about 2 months ago | (#47879691)

You must have been out sick the day the entire marketing class discussed the challenges associated with market leaders such as Kleenex and Xerox.

Here's the cliff notes version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... [wikipedia.org] . Even for the neck-beardiest android geek, deep in the logic center of the brains he knows that iPad has taken on a genericized condition in the mainstream.

Re:Scotch tape (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879753)

Even for the neck-beardiest android geek, deep in the logic center of the brains he knows that iPad has taken on a genericized condition in the mainstream.

Shhhhh! Don't tell them the realizatioin might fry their cereberal circuitry.

Nope, "Pad" is the generic name. (1)

EzInKy (115248) | about 2 months ago | (#47879789)

Never heard anyone refer to one of those devices as a tablet.

Message explained (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879583)

Brees was not watching movies on his iPad as he watching them on his Surface.

Bill Belichick (2)

Squidlips (1206004) | about 2 months ago | (#47879631)

I saw him struggling with it...I suspect he will go back to a clipboard and paper soon and to heck with the NFL and the MS contract...

Re:Bill Belichick (1)

jonnythan (79727) | about 2 months ago | (#47879707)

No such luck. The tablets have replaced the black and white printouts of player positioning and play development. Turns out those pictures were provided by the league itself to both teams - it's not something teams do on their own.

So if Belichick doesn't want the tablets to view those photos, he won't have any photos to see.

GoPro / iPad (1)

Racerdude (1006357) | about 2 months ago | (#47879673)

Same thing with small action cameras; Everyone refers to them as "GoPro", regardless of what brand it is. I think people just like to simplify their world

Microsoft didn't pay the messengers (5, Interesting)

SethJohnson (112166) | about 2 months ago | (#47879681)

Most commenters here and elsewhere assume these references to a competing product were accidental. I believe they were likely intentional. The $400m paid to the NFL did not include any money paid to the broadcast corporations. They're sitting there wondering why they should help the NFL promote something while at the same time having to pay the NFL similarly-sized piles of cash.

I think these carefully-executed comments were an intentional message to Microsoft that their promotional budget is better spent with them on commercials rather than trying to embed them in the content without paying the broadcasters.

Re:Microsoft didn't pay the messengers (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879899)

...message to Microsoft that their promotional budget is better spent with them on commercials ...

Oh [youtube.com] dear [youtube.com] god [youtube.com] , no [youtube.com] .

omfg (1)

slashmydots (2189826) | about 2 months ago | (#47879695)

Stop hiring idiots to do smart people jobs like comment on things in front of 50 million people! These are the same idiots that call Firefox Foxfire, CCleaner CC Cleaner, and their router their modem, their tower their hard drive, and their iphone and ipod.

OMG! (2)

wcrowe (94389) | about 2 months ago | (#47879717)

Someone called something that wasn't an iPad, an iPad! In other news, one announcer was overheard to say that the trainer was placing a Band-aid on an injured player, when in fact the bandage was a Curad! Shocking!

 

Re:OMG! (1)

Savage-Rabbit (308260) | about 2 months ago | (#47879841)

Someone called something that wasn't an iPad, an iPad! In other news, one announcer was overheard to say that the trainer was placing a Band-aid on an injured player, when in fact the bandage was a Curad! Shocking!

You're obviously not a nerd since you don't seem to understand why it is hilariously funny that a Microsoft tablet is consistently being called an 'iPad' by its users. Even nerds who were only a glint in their father's eye during the Microsoft v. Apple wars know why this is funny. Which brings us to the next question: What are you doing here?

Breach of contract, surely? (1)

wyoung76 (764124) | about 2 months ago | (#47879733)

If they don't have some breach of contract or revenue clawback due to all this silliness, then Microsoft have only themselves to blame for the lack of positive marketing and publicity.

ROFL (1)

DaMattster (977781) | about 2 months ago | (#47879735)

Wow, that sucks but it's very funny! It would have been funny had the tables been turned as well. If it had been Apple paying the NFL and the NFL commentators calling the devices a Surface, it would be just as funny if not more so.

News that matters? (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879765)

Since when did Slashdot start reporting on frivolous advertising in sports stories?

If I was in the NFL I'd be pissed (2)

Snotnose (212196) | about 2 months ago | (#47879781)

I'd be wanting to work at 110% of my ability 24/7, if I was forced to learn/use a device foreign to me I'd be pissed. I don't care if it's a surface, iPad, or chalkboard, let me work in a way that's most productive for me.

Brand that shit! (1)

RevWaldo (1186281) | about 2 months ago | (#47879809)

You see in the pics in the article how the headphones say BOSE in letters you could read literally from across a football field? Where does it say "Surface" on the tablet? That little foam handle? Slap "Surface" on every side of those protective frames. This is the NFL! They don't do subtle.

Even better, go algorithmic. Whenever a Surface tablet appears on the screen, slap a "Surface, The Official Tablet of the NFL" graphic in the corner.

And what, no one thinks to stick an "It's not an iPad, it's a Surface" Post-It somewhere in the damn booths?

.

Hey Microsoft!! (3, Funny)

sabbede (2678435) | about 2 months ago | (#47879813)

I will let you equip my organization with Surfaces for only $20. Our brand has developed a strong customer following and the products we use have a great influence on the purchasing decisions of our clients.

Granted, my organization may look like a household, but that's just a clever marketing tactic.

We will need three tablets at first to equip our executive staff (myself and my girlfriend) and our lead associate (her daughter), though our affiliates (extended family) may require them in the future.

That's nothing (2)

93 Escort Wagon (326346) | about 2 months ago | (#47879821)

For this upcoming Super Bowl, the big halftime event is going to be a heavily choreographed number with all of the participating players dancing around, clicking their Surface keyboards onto and off of the devices.

Sheeple start young. (1)

StrangeBrew (769203) | about 2 months ago | (#47879829)

I had a kid in my son's daycare correct me when I referred to the owners device as a tablet.He screamed how it wasn't a tablet it was an iPad. So I screamed back that 'anyone who can't say their 'R's isn't allowed an opinion, so get your Barbera Wawa arse out of my sight!' Ok, so maybe I thought it instead of saying it... but that would have been sweet.

Re:Sheeple start young. (1)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879931)

So the best you can do is imagine yourself winning an argument with a kindergartener?

I still remember when... (2)

Bill_the_Engineer (772575) | about 2 months ago | (#47879903)

All the phone manufacturers with the exception of Apple spent millions on Super Bowl Ads and at the end of the game all the players took out their iPhone and took pictures of each other with the trophy.

There is a positive side (0)

Anonymous Coward | about 2 months ago | (#47879921)

If it crashes, it's Apple's fault.

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