Microsoft's NFL Efforts Squashed When Surface Called "iPad-Like Tool"

Microsoft has gone to great lengths to ensure that sports fans are plastered with impressions of its hardware — the Surface has a strong presence this season, and that presence is hinged upon a hefty sum of money the company is shelling out to get its slate in the limelight. The problem? Getting the announcers to remember what it is called.

Microsoft is paying $400 million in its advertising deal with the NFL, which makes the announcers' references to Apple's tablet sting all the more. You can hear the commentary for yourself in the game clip below.

"They can do anything on those tablets now," says one announcer, while players gathered around a sky-blue Surface in a thick case to review plays. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the name "Surface" never made an appearance, with the slate instead being called an iPad twice.

After calling it an iPad, the announcer hesitated a bit, apparently realizing it wasn't Apple's tablet, but, not knowing what to call it, he switched to calling it an "iPad-like tool." Check out our NFL portal for more sports-related news!

VIA: The Verge