vComeback Contest: Microsoft Cloud Power Billboard

Microsoft recently plastered this giant attack ad on a key Silicon Valley passageway — Northbound Highway 101 in Mountain View:

Fun fact: The billboard on the opposite side is running an Apple iTunes ad.

“VIRTUALIZATION ALONE DOES NOT A CLOUD SOLUTION MAKE.”

Catchy, yet sophisticated and original.

Your witty comeback could win you a cool vSphere book!

Got a pithy response to this new Microsoft cloud marketing line?  Share it with the virtualization community by submitting a comment below for a chance to win a great prize.

The possibilities are endless.  Keep it clean.

For instance, you might reply:  “Yeah, I’d say the exact same thing if my virtualization was Hyper-V.”

A panel of distinguished judges I will subjectively select two winners to receive copies of Eric Siebert’s excellent book, Maximum vSphere.  Contest ends January 13, 11:59 p.m. PST and is open to everyone, but prizes will only be shipped to winners within the US.  Two winners will be announced no later than January 17.

Multiple responses are allowed — submit early, submit often.

UPDATE: Check out the colorful commentary by Colin Steele at TechTarget.

Comeback inspiration

For some comeback inspiration, take a look at this classic Seinfeld scene.  Just don’t go all George Costanza on us.

Disclaimers:  Book giveaways provided by publisher.  Contest not sponsored by, nor affiliated with, any third-parties.    No clouds were harmed in the making  of this blog post.

Related posts:

  1. Announcing the Cloud Power Caption Contest Winner
  2. vComeback Contest Winners! [Microsoft Cloud Power]
  3. Cloud Power Caption Contest [Win VMware Workstation 8!]
  4. Book Review: VCP4 Exam Cram [Giveaway!]
  5. Book Review: Automating vSphere with vCenter Orchestrator [Giveaway!]

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  1. Paul Woodward’s avatar

    the cloud is roads to more than just an operating system

    Reply

  2. Mike Preston’s avatar

    Virtualization alone does not a cloud soluti…C:\Program Files\Cloud\HyperV\hyper.exe is not a valid win32 application. Stop ERROR 0×0000020

    Reply

    1. Fernando’s avatar

      LOLLLLLLLL

      Reply

  3. Brent Ozar’s avatar

    “You have to add vapor and FUD too.”

    Reply

  4. H’s avatar

    You need vendor lock-in too.

    Reply

  5. Jim Bodkin’s avatar

    “Bill Gates, who for years was the richest man in the world, is also one of the smartest. But even he couldn’t figure out how to beat the Internet — how to transition his grand old monopoly software company, Microsoft, into a business that thrives on the Net. And so he begins his retirement today from Microsoft as the PC era’s biggest winner, and the Web era’s most spectacular casualty.” Josh Quittner

    Reply

  6. JD Langdon’s avatar

    I’d like to submit:
    vSphere, taking the Hyper-V entilation out of cloud computing.

    Reply

  7. Michael Noone’s avatar

    You also need patches, lots of patches… And security holes, you need those too.

    Reply

  8. PiroNet’s avatar

    OMG Cloud me in the Neck!

    Reply

  9. Paul Nelis’s avatar

    No amount of marketing fog can dispell the actual working clouds seeded by VMware

    Reply

  10. Hany Michael’s avatar

    “Bloody hell..even on billboards they’ve got BSOD’s!”

    Reply

  11. Thomas Corfmat’s avatar

    “VIRTUALIZATION ALONE DOES NOT A CLOUD SOLUTION MAKE.”

    “… WITHOUT A GENUINE VMWARE CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT SOLUTION”

    Reply

  12. Tony’s avatar

    Yoda called…he wants his speech writer back.

    Reply

  13. Wiilliam’s avatar

    Eric,

    This made my Monday morning, great find! Perhaps Microsoft was going for a Yoda impression. May the cloud force be with those with proper grammar :)

    Reply

  14. Adam Gross’s avatar

    I would say you would want to hit them on their dumb cloud commercials. So something like “Get more out of your cloud than just sharing documents” or “The cloud is more than just sharing pictures”

    Another one would be “Don’t let your cloud go up in flames” or if you want to be more vaguely direct against Microsoft and more complicated, “Don’t let your cloud go up in flaMeS” with “flae” in red and “MS” in black

    Reply

  15. Brent Quick’s avatar

    Don’t believe the hype mind-share does not equal market-share, VMware is the silver lining in the cloud.

    Reply

  16. JoeC’s avatar

    Microsoft – Transforming the cloud into fog.

    Reply

  17. Shekhar’s avatar

    Open your window panes to let in the VMware clouds

    or

    No Window panes if you want clouds

    or

    Windows block Clouds

    or

    Feel the clouds without windows.

    Reply

  18. Shekhar’s avatar

    Clouds pills for window pa(i)n(e)s

    Reply

  19. B. Riley’s avatar

    How about a simple equation:

    Microsoft – (Jim Allchin – Ray Ozzie – Bob Muglia) + Steve Ballmer = FAIL

    Reply

  20. michael’s avatar

    There is no try. Do [cloud] or do not

    (With a Yoda-esque little green guy beside it, leaning a stick)

    Reply

  21. michael’s avatar

    Ask yourself “what would google do” 4 VIRTUALIZATION?

    Reply

  22. Mark Richman’s avatar

    Microsoft is in a coma.

    Reply

  23. chris’s avatar

    Creating products in every corner of technology does not make you a virtualization expert.

    Reply

  24. chris’s avatar

    Database server …. check.
    Mail server…. check.
    Server OS … check.
    Client OS … check.
    Collaboration server … check

    Hypervisor … CHOKE.

    Reply

      1. Christian Mohn’s avatar

        I’m pretty Azure that is decent. Like most MS offerings; Decent.

        Reply

  25. Jake’s avatar

    Cloud you say? The vForce you must use.

    Reply

    1. Jake’s avatar

      Oh, man, it took out my yoda tag…

      Cloud you say? hmm.. The vForce you must use. -Yoda

      Reply

  26. anon’s avatar

    Virturlization without the Virtulization (Type-1 Hypervisor) layer does not a Cloud Solution make

    Hardware, Windows, Apps

    Reply

  27. Robert S’s avatar

    We’ve got our head in the clouds remembering the old days. That’s our solution.

    Reply

  28. JD Langdon’s avatar

    I was one years ago that read “In a world without fences and walls, who needs Windows and Gates?”

    Reply

  29. Stu Fox’s avatar

    Boy, you guys at VMware must be feeling really sensitive if that’s what classes as an attack these days, it’s just a simple statement of fact.

    Reply

    1. Jacob Foster’s avatar

      Do you work for Microsoft?

      Reply

      1. Stu Fox’s avatar

        Yes, I would have thought that was reasonably obvious given the URL for my website.

        Reply

        1. Eric Gray’s avatar

          I thought that was Jacob’s submission for the contest. It’s pretty good.

          Eric

          Reply

  30. Kevin’s avatar

    64 million lines of code should be enough for anybody

    Reply

  31. KenJ’s avatar

    Microsoft (TM) Windows (TM) Cloud Server 2011 R2 Data Center Edition – Where do you want to rain today? (C)

    Reply

  32. anon’s avatar

    Have mission critical apps? Never rely on Virtualization technology that requires old Windows Registry code.

    Reply

  33. Tuber’s avatar

    The Microsoft Cloud – Where your head goes after pulling it out of your rump.

    OR

    Marketing alone does not a legitimate business make.

    Reply

    1. Brent Ozar’s avatar

      Hahaha, marketing alone, I like that.

      Reply

  34. Tuber’s avatar

    OR

    Don’t Believe the Hyper-V

    Reply

  35. anon’s avatar

    Was listening to Queen’s “I want to break free” when I came across this blog.. so… picture Freddie Mercury tied up and singing…

    “I want to break free.. free from hyper-Veee”

    Reply

  36. Chris’s avatar

    I think the Rolling Stones coined it… “Hey you get off my cloud”

    or what do call a sheep with no legs? Azure

    Reply

  37. Dag Kvello’s avatar

    a Clouded vision does not equal a vision of the cloud.

    Reply

  38. @vRobM’s avatar

    Microsoft alone does not a Cloud Solution make.

    Virtualization without VMware does not a Cloud Solution make.

    Get vCritical on a Microsoft Cloud Solution.

    Reply

  39. Ben’s avatar

    “Did you hear the one about competition? Microsoft bought Heinz, and still couldn’t Ketchup.”

    Reply

  40. Craig Householder’s avatar

    Some clouds may be formed of vapor but ours started with virtualization!

    Reply

  41. eric’s avatar

    Hyper-V is just hype I see

    Reply

  42. Harley Stagner’s avatar

    “Marketing alone does not a solution make”

    Reply

    1. Harley Stagner’s avatar

      Oops. I see someone beat me to that.

      Reply

  43. Dane’s avatar

    The only thing you’ll get with a Micro$oft cloud is soaked.

    Reply

  44. Nick’s avatar

    “Hyper-V is dumb”

    Reply

  45. Nick’s avatar

    “Hyper-V – It will give you herpes”

    Reply

  46. B’s avatar

    VMware: No windows need to be opened to experience our clouds.
    or
    Mydoom, MSBlaster, Zotob, CodeRed, Conficker…Same target, same result. Virtualization is for proven technologies, not flawed ones of the past.
    or
    Our vehicle does not need Windows to get to the cloud.

    Reply

  47. chris’s avatar

    “VMWARE ALONE DOES NOT A HYPERV SOLUTION MAKE.”

    Reply

  48. Charles Killmer’s avatar

    ESX, all virtual, no monkeys.

    Reply

  49. Jon Owings’s avatar

    I know I am late but wanted to comment:

    “Virtualization the foundation of cloud computing. Do you want to build on the rock of vSphere or the sand of Hyper-V?”

    Reply

  50. Massimo Re Ferre'’s avatar

    “Virtualization alone does not a cloud solution make” ?

    An OS that has both a browser and a (weak) hypervisor “bloated-in” does not a cloud solution make either.

    Reply

  51. Toby’s avatar

    Dominance does not excellence make.

    Reply

  52. Matt Keller’s avatar

    Microsoft Alone (where they like to be) does not make a cloud solution !!
    Contact your VMware rep for more details

    Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is NOT a “To the Cloud” solution
    VMware – we have solutions

    How many times should you have to re-boot your cloud ?
    NONE – see http://www.vmware.com for details

    We are not alone in virtualization, Come join us !! VMware

    The ultimate Cloud solution is a multi-vendor solution that enables YOUR business
    VMware

    Reply

  53. Vuong’s avatar

    Hyper-V: Redefining cloud computing with pure Obfuscation and FUD

    Reply

  54. Vuong’s avatar

    Hyper-V: Redefining cloud computing with pure FUD and lots of Obfuscation

    Reply

  55. graalar’s avatar

    (On a billboard before Microsoft’s)

    Limited visibility: Microsoft Cloud Power ahead.

    Reply

  56. Bill R’s avatar

    Windows alone does make a cloud solution break!!

    Reply

  57. John’s avatar

    The VMware response is to provide superior cloud solutions.

    Reply

  58. graalar’s avatar

    Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride with Microsoft Cloud Power.
    Smooth your transition to the cloud with VMware.

    Reply

  59. Alyssa’s avatar

    It’s hard to get to the cloud when your servers are stuck on the ground.

    Reply

    1. Vuong’s avatar

      oh you mean when your windoze boxes are busy taking a dirtnap

      Reply

  60. David Forsch’s avatar

    Cloud alone does not an IT solution make.

    Reply

  61. Paul Chambre’s avatar

    vCloud: no smoke (and no mirrors).

    Reply

  62. graalar’s avatar

    “Azure!”
    “Gesundheit.”
    VMware. The cure for the common cloud.

    Reply

  63. Ernest’s avatar

    Microsoft has to add this to their add:

    Coming soon!!!

    Reply

  64. Vitaly Tsipris’s avatar

    “Marketing alone does not a cloud solution make”!

    Reply

  65. Simon’s avatar

    “Our clouds, the earth they do not cost. Can others say the same?”

    “Unlike others, we don’t have our head in the clouds, we build the clouds”

    “Our virtualization makes the weather cloudy over Redmond”

    Reply

  66. jbrison’s avatar

    “Do Clouds require an Active-X to start?”

    Reply

  67. Paul Kelly’s avatar

    Hyper-V: Press any key to restart
    or
    VMware: Hand-crafted by people that care
    or
    Microsoft Cloud – Don’t let it rain on your parade
    or
    Microsoft Cloud – It will rain on your parade

    Reply

  68. Eric Gray’s avatar

    Thanks everyone for participating. Winners have been selected, please see http://www.vcritical.com/2011/01/vcomeback-contest-winners-microsoft-cloud-power/

    Reply

  69. Jason Boche’s avatar

    My submission links to this MS article (For $50,000, I could pay someone to move my virtual machines for me) where MS bolsters the opinion that hot migration (& really it’s about whatever competitor technology MS does not yet have) isn’t needed by its customers:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2008/10/06/for-_2400_50_2c00_000_2c00_-i-could-pay-someone-to-move-my-virtual-machines-for-me.aspx

    So I guess the moral here is that the cloud also requires (and should be trusted to) an intern who works 24x7x365.

    Reply

  70. Zack’s avatar

    Bring on the cloud, not the hype(r-V)

    Reply

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