Can Jerry Seinfeld save Microsoft? – Apparently NOT

Published on September 4th, 2008

Can Jerry Seinfeld save Microsoft? – MarketWatch Below is an excerpt from last week’s column in Marketwatch. My premise was correct but my conclusion is wrong. I assumed that these new commercials would merely stink as opposed to seriously stink. The first one (shown above) is beyond bad and into the arena of “WTF are they thinking?”

In fact the technical term for this is a “reeker!”

As we should all know by now, Microsoft Corp. has tapped Jerry Seinfeld to anchor an advertising campaign for the company in hopes of counteracting the insulting “Mac vs. PC” ads, featuring comic John Hodgman (as PC) and actor Justin Long (Mac).

Based on Microsoft’s history in advertising, let me start with the logical premise that this advertising campaign will stink. Try to think of a memorable advertisement by this company, and you can’t do it.
So the question becomes not whether the campaign will stink, but how bad.

I have come up with three possibilities. The kindest one would be “just stinks.” After that comes “stinks to high heaven,” followed by the frightful “What are they thinking!?

Seinfeld got a reported $10 million for this fine effort.

87 users responded in " Can Jerry Seinfeld save Microsoft? – Apparently NOT "

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# 1 furrypotato said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:22 pm

Um, I, like, um, have, um an admission to , like, um, make….

I quite liked it.

There, I said it. It’s done. I’ll go and have a shower now.

First off some admissions – I never watched Seinfeld when it was shown here in the UK. And I have no axe to grind with either Apple or MS – I use both of them and have things I like and dislike about them both.

The ad was subtle, gentle comedy which had a softly spoken point to it at the end. And I enjoyed watching it.
So they could have given the $10m to an ad agency ? How many ads on TV at the moment do I actually like ? None spring to mind. And they are all the product of ad agencies. So give the money to someone more creative -they cant be any worse can they ?

And thank they didn’t go down the ‘insult Apple’ road. It would just seem like 2 school kids shouting ‘you suck!’ ‘no, you suck!’ back and forth at each other.

Still got a long way to go in this campaign and I’m looking forward to more.

Dylan

(Oh, apologies in advance to all those who will flame me now- I’m away from Internet for next 9 hours so wont be able to reply)

# 2 PeterR said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

In fact the technical term for this is a “reeker!”

It’s not even good enough to qualify as a reeker. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a bad ad.

# 3 mthrnite said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

So.. were they shooting for surreal, or just letting it happen of it’s own accord? Either way, I enjoyed it, and I’m a Mac. All in all, it’s so stupid that it almost works. Would’ve preferred Larry David over Seinfeld though.

# 4 peterg said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:38 pm

With ads like that, who needs PC’s, people will be flocking to buy Macs, iPhones, iPods and such…bring them on..
Like the ad, M$ apps only stick to the point for a short time, then some how get lost in the transition….

# 5 Lou said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

Should have upped the div to share holders.

# 6 Jim said, on September 4th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

I had to double check the Dvorak headline to see if this was an add for MS or for Shoe Circus. This sums up Microsoft really. It Sucks

# 7 JFetch said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:17 am

I think it’s funny, but it never mentions a product. Doesn’t that go against the whole point of doing an ad?

# 8 pjakobs said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:32 am

and the point of the ad would be?

# 9 Jim A said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:38 am

It wasn’t anything to get excited about, but it wasn’t supremely horrible. Just them attempting to put Gates into Seinfeld’s world and see what happens.

My take would be they want to “Humanize” Gates and thus Microsoft. Which would imply more ads of them “running into” each other at normal day-to-day places and gradually integrating microsoft products to make some point.

The big thing is that some of the folks at microsoft are relatively unknown to regular audiences and thus inside jokes won’t work nor will bringing in cameos of various MS people. It will have to be entirely on Seinfeld’s turf for any of it to work.

That being said, if we see four or five ads and they are all in similar veins without a continuation of the story/point, then yeah, it will officially suck.

If you remember some of the American Express commercials and web “stories” that seinfeld did, the gist of each of the commercials was to push the brand using his form of humor, not to just have him wave the logo in your face.

So I’d say give it a bit and see what else they are going to do. Probably subtle things, like touch-tables for them to find a good dinner spot.

# 10 audiodragon said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:51 am

Maybe it’s because I’m a Brit but I quite liked it. I have NO idea what the point is except to humanize Gates and he certainly would seem to be more sympatico than Jobs.

# 11 wankhairil said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:52 am

It’s not stellar, but not that bad. Somewhat funny.

Nearing the end, while walking with Gates, Sienfeld said “are they ever gonna come out with something that make our computers moist and chewy.. yadda… yadda…..”. Is this implying that there’s a new product coming?

Hopefully they don’t mean Vista. To promote the OS after almost 2 years in the market is just plain wacko. There’s no hope Vista (from a marketing point of view), even though I personally have no issues with it.

But sounds like there’s something new. I’ll give them the chance to complete the whole campaign.

# 12 The Pirate said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:57 am

So Microsoft is going into the shoe business? That is so cool, something Apple hasn’t thought of yet. Innovation from Microsoft has finally arrived, the eShoe. Seinfeld brings it home!

# 13 QB said, on September 5th, 2008 at 1:07 am

I expected Jar Jar Binks at some point.

# 14 Uncle Patso said, on September 5th, 2008 at 1:37 am

“Microsoft Windows, eh?”
“Yeah”
“That model runs tight”
“Yup”

Millions of people who have been pinched, squeezed and given corns by Windows agree. Ouch! Another BSOD — I’ve just lost the last half hour’s work! Thank god for AutoSave! Now, how do I turn it on again?

# 15 igor said, on September 5th, 2008 at 1:48 am

i loved it

# 16 Gary said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:29 am

Another vote for “liked it.” Thought it was underplayed, humanized, and in a story form versus pushing a brand in my face. Now whether it helps MS is another question, but it did put a smile on my face. Not too many commercials do that these days. Does not make me want to give up my Mac (nor slow down my eventual near-complete move to the White Side, but…)

# 17 jerry said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:41 am

Bill Gates could become a comedy star.

# 18 QB said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:45 am

Oh I get it now. It’s an ad about nothing.

# 19 moss said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:45 am

I’m a fan of well-done commercials. This was boring. No talent. No creativity.

Playing to geeks at best – which I honestly think shouldn’t be the point of TV advertising. You can get away with niche adverts on the Web; but, they cost a hell of a lot less, too.

Wasting money on an NFL spot with mediocrity is foolish.

# 20 J said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:52 am

I saw this on TV last night. It was very uncomfortable.

# 21 The Monster's Lawyer said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:53 am

I’ve seen worse. “Head On” comes to mind.

# 22 Kelvington said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:53 am

Wow, I was shocked at how unfunny this ad really was. Now let me tell you why this is so bad.

What do George Lucas and Jerry Seinfeld have in common? They are both so rich and so popular, that NO ONE ever tells them NO anymore.

As in NO you are not funny here, as in NO Jar Jar Binks is a terrible character, or NO NO NO BAD DOG, no one wants to see Bill Gates do a hip shake. NO!

If you surround yourself with only Yes men and women, then you are bound to fail. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and often. Being funny is very hard, being funny often is damn near impossible without a group of good writers and creative staff who hate each other in a jealous but respectful loving kind way, who will point out to you in no uncertain terms.

CHURROS ARE NOT FUNNY! Not by themselves or as the focus of a software company’s ad. Tasty yes, funny no.

Just my 2¢,
Kelvington

# 23 gojeffrey said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:56 am

I tell you what… that ad was effective and drove the point home.

Very clever of Shoe Circus to get Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld to do their ads!

Now where do I sign up for that Shoe Circus Clown Club Platinum Membership?!?!?!

# 24 Dugger said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:00 am

There is some subtle humor.

Did anyone notice the Clown Club membership card has the image of Bill’s mugshot when he was arrested in 1997 for a traffic violation?

# 25 Dugger said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:01 am

oops 1977.

# 26 pedro said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:03 am

Is that for real? Tell me is just a corporate video, please!

How lame can you go.

# 27 itate said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:23 am

Well, it’s rather bland but
it was better than the
“w-w-w-windows 386″ video.

# 28 Digby said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:56 am

It’s no “1984″ Apple spot, is it? I detest Apple products because they focus so much on fashion design. I have been a PC user since I quit my Apple II, so, being one, I am too out of it to see the humor or point. Just deliver a great-working OS, Bill. Fire Jerry now.

# 29 George the younger said, on September 5th, 2008 at 7:08 am

Seinfeld is not funny. He jumped the shark years ago.

# 30 jobs said, on September 5th, 2008 at 7:11 am

I though it was pretty good. Lot of jabs at apple from the circus store to the (OS) 10 size shoes. Very funny of course most people won’t get it.

# 31 JimR said, on September 5th, 2008 at 7:38 am

As usual, it’s a strategic rip-off of Mac ads.

Replace the Mac user guy with Bill Gates (an easy-going surprisingly average guy who understands the average user), and the Windows guy replaced by Seinfield (the goofy friendly and unusual sidekick) that together sell product in a soft-sell humorous (we’re just like you) fashion.

# 32 OvenMaster said, on September 5th, 2008 at 7:46 am

Well, there went 90 seconds of my life that I can’t get back…

# 33 David said, on September 5th, 2008 at 7:56 am

I can’t see how this is even remotely humorous, but some people claim to have found it funny. Fine. The question is, will this commercial sell a product, or will it leave most people scratching their heads?

# 34 todd said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:11 am

Great job, Shoe Circus! Imagine getting both Seinfeld and Gates in their commercials. It must have been really expensive.

I want a new pair of shoes!

# 35 scumola said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:14 am

Hey, it wasn’t bad. Take this into account. Jerry probably wrote the whole thing and he’s been known to be a Macintosh user and probably knows very little about computers. Also, Bill Gates is the world worst actor and probably has a very poor sense of humor. Here’s Bill’s lines for the whole commercial:

Jerry Seinfeld?
I’m good.
The left one’s a little tight.
No.
Pleather.
Never.
Better.
Platinum.
Big top points.
I have.

They need to keep Bill’s dialog to a minimum so he can’t screw it up or come off as a person with no social skills. Jerry is doing all of the talking for most of the commercial. Who’s the straight man? It’s not Jerry, and Bill can’t do many lines, so the commercials are going to all kind of be a little Jerry-heavy.

I’m not a mac or windows fan (Linux is my preferred OS), but I’m a big Jerry Seinfeld fan. I thought that for a first attempt, it was ok, and I’m sure that once they come up with a story line, they’ll start the Windows Vista (or whatever) message more solidly. I think that this commercial is just about the two of them meeting and becoming friends. Character introduction – Jerry is the normal Jerry Seinfeld (who likes churros, showers with his clothes on and doesn’t know anything about computers) and Bill is the world’s biggest cheapskate.

I’d like to see a few others before I pass final judgment.

# 36 Pablo said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:44 am

Why is Microsoft dissing the Hispanics? Don*t they think we know who Bill Gates is?

Just makes me angry! I thought the Hispanics also was a part of the US community!

# 37 Floyd said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am

I first saw this on TV. I like dry humor, so I liked the commercial.

Incidentally, though I first used the Mac GUI when it came out, I have always found Windows, from Win 95 on, to be easier to use than either the old Mac GUI or OS X (my wife has a Mac laptop that I have to dig around in occasionally to upgrade or fix something for her). Even Motif (Unix, and similar interfaces in Linux) is easier to use than OS X. I’m still trying to figure out a way to put shortcuts to documents on the OS X pageother than the bar at the bottom of the page

# 38 Shubee said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am

I think that most of this ad is very funny, only because it paints Bill Gates as a cheapskate that buys his shoes from an absurd discount store by the name of Shoe Circus. I am somewhat confused by the ending however. The point there is that Microsoft is going to be coming out with something delicious and the sign for that is Bill Gates drawing attention to his butt. How in the world can anyone explain that? It strikes me as greatly demeaning Microsoft customers.

# 39 jescott418 said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:38 am

Maybe they should have shot it in a computer store? I would have hired PC guy from the Mac Ad’s and had Bill Gates given him a pep talk and telling him not to believe Mac dude. Sure would have gone a lot further then the ad they have now. Not any better then the Zune ad’s.

# 40 William T. Riker said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am

Even being the diametric opposite of a Microsoft fan, I still liked this commercial.

But then again, I’m apparently the only person that thought that “The Dark Knight” was crap.

Nerd away, ye flamers,
William T. Riker

# 41 mbauman said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am

Of course the first ad didn’t make a lot of sense – remember the early Seinfelds? It took a while to get into the zen of Jerry’s world, but then you bought it hook, line and sinker – the “show about nothing” turned out to be brilliant. This is what they are doing. First, you re-introduce Jerry, and then guess who becomes Kramer (sort of). The first couple of ads will set the stage, and the product pitches will come later. What’s Microsoft? Why Vandalay industries, of course Keep watching – these ad meisters are going to suck you in.

# 42 OmegaMan said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am

I’m not sure who this commercial is aimed at or the point of it. I’m a technical person and I did my best to read between the lines and if this was about Vista it was never evident. This is then a commercial to promote Microsoft? I believe a commercial should give some idea about what it is supposed to represent. First Sienifeld talks about moist and chewy, then I thought it strange when Bill Gates wiggled his butt and Jerry Seinfeld said “Delicious”. There is something disturblingly gay in a coprophiliac way about this. They paid Seinfeld $10 million for this. A high school student could have made this commercial with his lunch money.

# 43 Rabbitt said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:56 am

He may not be very funny but who ever said Seinfeld was an idiot? Take the money and run, right!? I’d do it for 10 mil too, in fact I’d pull down my down my drawers then wiggle my butt for that! Personally I think Microsoft is crazy paying that kind of money for this drivel, but its their money.

# 44 Billy Bob said, on September 5th, 2008 at 10:14 am

If this was a “teaser” for a future set of commercials, it didn’t exactly tease.

# 45 ECA said, on September 5th, 2008 at 10:22 am

I has this empty feeling…
Im thinking Im going to get an APPLE and run linux.

# 46 SirvonRohr said, on September 5th, 2008 at 10:36 am

Nice! I learned that Bill and I have the same shoe size. That was the point of the ad, right?

# 47 QB said, on September 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am

It’s nice to see Microsoft embrace and extend the humorous commercial format. By Version 3.1 it will be up to par with the competition’s current product. That version is slated for release in Q4 2011.

# 48 pizza2 said, on September 5th, 2008 at 11:38 am

Its was good when i watch sienfeld reruns i think of the ad.

# 49 Mister Ketchup said, on September 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am

Ca we assume this was a Vista commercial? Sucks just as bad. I’ll bet Pedro got a woody over it though.

# 50 jim h said, on September 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

I found it original and funny and a heckuva lot less pretentious than Apple’s advertising. I think this is the right approach for Microsoft. Spot on.

# 51 B. Dog said, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Bill has a rep for micromanaging things. I’m just saying…

# 52 Who said, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

#50 – jim h, you must working for the ad agency or need to up your meds.

# 53 hhopper said, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

Somewhat entertaining but peculiar to say the least.

# 54 pedro said, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

#37 Dissing the Hispanics? WTF??? Do us a favor: Grow some thicker skin, will you?

#49 Read before posting. What am I thinking, macfans just blurb.

# 55 Alan said, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

The only thing I find more horrifying than the idea that the people at Microsoft thought this ad was a good enough one to produce and disseminate it, is the comments here from people who say they ‘liked’ it. It frightens me to think you all are out there on the loose where I might run into you. Dear gawd.

# 56 John C Dvorak said, on September 5th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

#56 Alan, Amen. Weird.

# 57 Bill Janis said, on September 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

Listening on TWIT a week or two ago, everyone on the show thought Jerry was a bad choice. One guy said he’s been out of a career for 10 years. The thing to remember is that is by CHOICE, and I think Jerry really is a great choice.

But this ad is so unbelievably bad. Are people going to just love Microsoft more than Mac because of this? And also, didn’t Microsoft and the press make sure everyone knew that Bill Gates left Microsoft day to day duties a few weeks ago?

WHAT is going on at Microsoft. They try to out hip Apple, the over think their ads and totally forget who they are marketing to. Like to insane idea they had to blast neighborhoods in NYC in the middle of the night advertising the Zune.

Microsoft, stick with the basics. Be straight forward. Can you do that please? It’s sad to see a great company roll around in the mud this publicly.

That said, I did like the moment Bill said, “leather,” and there was that trademark Seinfeld moment of comical silence right after that. But that isn’t going to help Microsoft, is it? Heck, it just all tells me I miss Jerry.

# 58 ECA said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

NOW I have to ask..

WHat was this commercial FOR??
I saw NOTHING adverted, EXCEPT SHOES.

# 59 deowll said, on September 5th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

I liked it. I found it to be amusing which is a good thing.

# 60 jobs said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Does no one get the subtle humor or the constant jabs at apple.

And it’s “pleather” like leather but cheap imitation. I think this add went over everyones heads.

# 61 QB said, on September 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

#61 jobs

“Does no one get the subtle humor or the constant jabs at apple.”

Actually it’s a homoerotic homage to Marcel Duchamp during his Kinetic period and his Rrose Sélavy personae.

# 62 shiraz said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

Bill is the PC guy and Jerry is the mac guy. The mac guys may be portrayed as one who is entertaining but annoying – not accomplishing anything. We shall see.

# 63 Someone said, on September 5th, 2008 at 8:34 pm

What this means is that instead of using a mouse, you will sit on a special cushion and compute “by the seat of your pants”.

The rest of you guys, get your minds out of the gutter.

# 64 Bob said, on September 5th, 2008 at 9:37 pm

#43 Did you write the post about this on realtechnews.com using the name of “Alf”? It’s word for word of your post here.

# 65 David Blomstrom said, on September 6th, 2008 at 12:31 am

Now that Bill Gates has ruined Jerry Seinfeld’s reputation, we’ll have to recruit another retired comedian to rescue Seinfeld. Have you ever noticed that Bill Gates destroys almost everyting he touches, from Windows to web standards to public schools?

Someone needs to put this guy away.

To learn more about Bill Gates, check out my Bill Gates “knol.”

# 66 Michael Auerswald said, on September 6th, 2008 at 1:14 am

I really don’t think it was all that bad. I think what they are going for is some sort of story arc with following ads, so this one is more of an establishing shot for Bill and Jerry to be “in the same world”.
As for not mentioning a product: Bill Gates is the product. Seriously, who does not know who he is? Bill Gates > Microsoft > Windows/Office. It’s synonymous.
Now, was it funny? Well, not haha funny that’s for sure. Not mean funny either like the Apple ads (which btw. I don’t like, for their pretentious style).
We’ll have to wait what the following ads will be like. I say there is still hope for this campaign.

# 67 Franko said, on September 6th, 2008 at 2:19 am

Gates, the buffer overflow salesmam.
Seinfeld, strech the shoe in a shower, or chop toes to fit. The salesman Vista badly needs.

Not even extreme bad. Good enough for government work.
Seinfeld and Gates in a weekly TV series next

Gates, get a different life, before your buffer overflows, count icebergs, stare at your navel in India

# 68 Mr. Fusion said, on September 6th, 2008 at 11:43 am

This is not a knock on Apple. The cheap imitation is a reference to Linux.

This is a little better than watching an “Extendese” ad for enhancing that certain part of the male anatomy, or the “Girl’s Gone Wild” ads.

# 69 zorkor said, on September 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

Who cares? PC still rules the majority of the Desktops and Laptops while MAC still sucks.

# 70 Sying Flaucer said, on September 6th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

#13 QB
“I expected Jar Jar Binks at some point.”

Now that’s funny!

# 71 highqham said, on September 7th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Floyd #38 They’re Aliases on the Mac. Try Command ‘L’ or ‘Make Alias’ under the ‘File’ menu – It’s not difficult.

No one mentioned the repeated “ten” in reference to the shoe size. It is repeated four times. Since it is MacOS (TEN), could this be some sort of reference to OSX? Of course then Seinfeld says to Bill “You’re a Ten”, which seems kind of backwards. But why mention ‘ten’ four times in quick succession???

I’ll let the psychologists figure that one out!

HQH

# 72 Aladdin 4D said, on September 8th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

John have you been reading the Aladdin 4D Blog? We talked about this on 09/06/08.

http://aladdin4d.blogspot.com/

# 73 Sid said, on September 8th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

God forbid, Microsoft spend 10 million on a product that actually gives people what they want. I said I would not speak ill of the dead, but if this ad is the best they can do then it may be time to by myself an overpriced Apple product.

# 74 pwuk said, on September 9th, 2008 at 1:40 am

What a croc, these two planks are less animated than Thunderbirds.

# 75 Uncle Patso said, on September 9th, 2008 at 3:29 am

I think the family looking in the window got caught up by seeing someone famous in the store, just as Jerry Seinfeld did at the beginning of the spot.

# 76 WJones said, on September 9th, 2008 at 5:36 am

Dvorak’s article in PC Mag suggesting this commercial is about ‘kinky sex’ is unworthy of that publication. Sometimes, John, a churro (rigid or not) is just a churro. I think the only kink here is in your own mind.

# 77 efjay said, on September 9th, 2008 at 6:27 am

Having recently switched to Mac, wondering if my move was premature. This ad convinced me there is no future with a company that has lost its way. The ad was drivel, pointless and a sure sign that Microsoft is floundering.

# 78 garyla said, on September 9th, 2008 at 7:37 am

After all his ruthless employee flogging, business cheating and krappy
product releases Bill has made his billions and billions. Now he just wants to be seen as one of the guys and will pay any price to get there.
Too bad so many others had to pay first.

# 79 Your shrink said, on September 9th, 2008 at 8:35 am

@ Floyd (#38)
She doesn’t need you to fix her MacBook. She want you to feel good about yourself and give you the feeling that you’re important to her.

# 80 lbjack said, on September 9th, 2008 at 12:03 pm

Cute commercial. Allusions to the old “Bill G’s” underwear lore. (And Seinfeld’s wet clothes fetish???) Ok, and maybe a little with the churro and “How’s the fit?” and shoe-size bit. Though Gates does seem as perplexed as we.

But this was an ad for…what?

# 81 Atticus Finch said, on September 9th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

[Deleted for violation of blog guidelines. --ed.]

# 82 Trace Bannon said, on September 10th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

Hey, the ad got you talking and blogging about it.

What’s the saying about “there’s no bad PR”?

# 83 David Bear said, on September 10th, 2008 at 6:45 pm

I can just see the Microosft exec in the meetings. 100 people must have seen and approved these ads. They all thought it was fantastic enough to spen almost 1/3 BILLION dollars on. Can you see the boardroom now?

Guy #1 – “Wow! That was fantastic…let’s run with it!”

Guy #2 – “I couldn’t agree more. As an Ad agency you’ve knocked our socks off – kudos!”

Guy #3 – “This investment will bring in 4 times what it cost. Absolutely brilliant guys!”

I’m assuming the same great team said the same things about Vista when it was launched – so what do you expect when the same people keep doing the same things wrong expecting different results?

As a stockholder – I’m ashamed. What a waste of money. I’m sure glad Vista cost so much so they could waste MY money on vauge, non-product related ads rather than building great products with it and just having them sell themselves. Just like Mojave – got to trick people into buying our products.

I wonder if Bill Gates likes everyone talking about his cake-like buttocks. I’ll bet he’s wishing these ads were different already. I can’t imaging he’s proud. Eh, what does he care, right? He’s laughing all the way to the bank too.

# 84 Manny said, on September 11th, 2008 at 1:21 am

I don’t think I’ll ever eat a churro again. A bit humorous and it will indeed get people talking – just not sure that acting like a looney company involved with circuses, shoes, and moist cake underwear is exactly what Microsoft wants people to be associating with their brand right now. I just want to get my work done, e-mail my friends, and play a few games. I don’t want to have to associate with middle-aged men wearing their shoes in the shower and understanding underwear code-speak to do so.

The next commercial better be a barn-burner – I mean, this ad agency better be friggin geniuses with where this is going and soon or this is going to flop – big time. I’ll have to wait until the next commercial, but wow – not good. Not good at all.

# 85 VannDetta said, on September 11th, 2008 at 8:22 am

Just as an aside, until I pointed out that Jerry Seinfeld was with Bill Gates of MicroSoft, my wife though that this was a commercial for The Shoe Circus (and she saw this commercial at least a half dozen times!). Had me hurting on the floor.

# 86 Apple_and_PC_Tech said, on September 11th, 2008 at 9:42 am

I got the point of the commercial…the shoe was supposed to represent Vista.

It’s tight = Vista pushes your hardware to the brink of exhaustion (read that: runs slowly)

You have to wear them in the shower = Vista is different. You have to use it differently. (read that: a pain in the butt to use)

It takes some time for it to stretch out = Vista has updates that have been released for it (read that: still slow and buggy even though SP1 has been released)

You’re a ten = A PC user wants an OS that runs like a perfect 10 (read that: XP works perfectly fine, but Vista doesn’t)

At the end of the commercial, where Seinfeld asks Gates about “something delicious” means Windows 7.

This is just a bad commercial. I got the symbolism because I am a technician. Not everyone is a tech – most people know how to turn a computer on and type something into Word or send E-Mails. To the average person, using a computer is like driving a car. They are not sure exactly why it works, but it does.

I think this commercial would leave the average computer user scratching his or her head and asking why Microsoft is selling shoes. When compared to something smart, like say the Mac vs PC ads, this commercial leaves much to be desired.

# 87 djarvis8 said, on September 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm

I really like the Seinfeld ads. I think they are saturated with deep and profound meaning.

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25% off eHarmony subscription with code EHTECH
12-percent discount forever with code TECH
10-percent discount and free month using TECH10
10-percent or 30 dollars off weekly car rental!
Get 10-percent discount on car rental!
Get 10% off rental cars!
Get 10% off Dollar rentals!
Discounts on domain names!