Have you ever wondered why Oracle’s advertising has been so bad for so long? I always assumed it was because “The Shogun,” CEO Larry Ellison, who gets involved in all the advertising, has absolutely no taste. Well, it turns out with the recent release of documents involved in a shareholders lawsuit… It’s ‘cos Larry is too busy worrying about the state of his finances. That’s right, one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of nearly $20 billion has money worries and his financial adviser is trying to convince him to cut down on his over-the-top lifestyle. At the bottom of a document detailing Ellison's 2000 debt load, the advisor had scrawled a rough accounting of Ellison's lavish spending, according to deposition testimony:
"1) Life Style -- annual $20m
2) Interest Accrual -- annual $75m
3) Villa in Japan -- $25m
4) New Yacht -- $194m -- over 3 yrs
5) America's Cup -- $80m -- over 3 yrs
6) UAD -- 12m over 3 yrs."
It's not clear what UAD refers to. Since this rough budget, Ellison has reportedly spent $200 million building a Japanese-style estate in Woodside, which includes a reproduction of a 17th-century Kyoto teahouse. He has also bought multiple properties in Malibu -- $180 million worth, by one report. No mention of his stable of passenger and fighter jets which includes a couple of MIG fighters! It’s tough at the top. But, Larry, there’s no excuse for those ads. They suck!
This is not my yacht... This is the boat I use to get to my yacht!
Ellison's, I mean ORACLE's, advertising is a classic example of hypercompetitiveness. The messages are less about giving people reasons to buy your product than all about ridiculing, belittling, and generally dissing the competition. In fact, this is Larry Ellison in print, in his own words. Most vendors who go down this road get their heads handed to them sooner or later (see "Scott McNealy"); but Oracle/Ellison, like Genghis Khan, pillages and plunders on. I'd say "more power to him", but he already HAS all there is!
Posted by: Stan DeVaughn | February 1, 2006 12:27 PM | Permalink to Comment