Selling the Cloud Sublime - To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World - page 84

bug-infested turmoil goes out in just ifteen minutes. Executives are now
(Jedi?) masters and the boss whose workday is typically illed with painful
repetitions of “no” can now say “yes” over and over again. These prom-
ises are the stuff of corporate myth, but not so utopian as to undermine
a sales pitch to knowing executives. They remain within the realm of
the real, the heavenly cloud on earth, delivered by Microsoft. The prod-
ucts themselves—Windows Azure, Microsoft Ofice 365, and Windows
Hyper-V Server—make the briefest of appearances, with the emphasis
placed on the value of the company providing the service. Microsoft itself
is mythologized in the faces of the presenters, whose nationalities and
speech describe a company that covers the entire globe, from the British
executive who turns change into a joy ride to the Indian businessman who
can go global overnight. It may be the cloud on earth, but the earth is
well covered by Microsoft (Warren 2010).
A bit later Microsoft released a very different advertisement that,
understandably, aroused controversy. This campaign directs individual
consumers who learn that the solution to problems involves a trip “To
the Cloud.” The ad features a Mom carefully examining the family photo
she wants to preserve. And what an unruly family it is! With a frustrated
look on her face, Mom complains because her daughter is texting, her
son is sticking an action igure in his brother's ear, and Dad is trying to
remove it (the action igure, not the ear). The solution is found in taking
a trip “To the Cloud,” where Mom “can take all these unruly shots and
swap in some smiles.” This means downloading from the cloud images
of each member of her family in happy repose and placing them in the
appropriate spots to perfect her family photo. Mom is thrilled because,
thanks to the cloud, “inally a photo I can share without ridicule.” As if
this were not enough, Mom turns to her “real” family, which is looking
bored, except for Dad, who appears depressingly sad, as he bows his head
in shame. The spot ends with Mom's thankful conclusion: “Windows
gives me the family nature never could.” 2
This ad stirred some controversy for a couple of reasons—primarily
because it features a mom who appears to prefer a digitally altered ver-
sion of her family to her “unruly” real one. Who needs the family nature
provided when the cloud can send you a better one, or at least one free
from the all-too-human propensity to act autonomously? Added to this is
the admittedly geeky concern that Mom has not really gone to the cloud