The First Bill Gates + Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft Ad Makes No Sense

[brandonkm]

I think the ad is rather brilliant. The whole "wtf" vibe is what they were going for. You have to always remember that this ad and the followup ads are part of a much larger campaign that is basically going to be a saga of microsoft advertising. Think of this as one of the first few pages in a chapter within a long book.

[tialys]

The 'wtf' vibe is also generating all kinds of noise about the ad. Every Mac related website in my RSS feed had an article about it, and it's on every news site I visit. The average consumer may be slightly confused, but the internet large is having it shoved in their face. Isn't that what you'd want with an aggressive ad campaign like this?

[mattmaroon]

I would agree if it were funny. It's really not.

And people stopped reading long books 10 years ago. Now it's all Dan Brown type crap you can polish off in a day.

[jhickner]

The ad is brilliant, but it's even funnier how many people don't seem to get it.

(full disclosure: I loathe MS as much as anyone)

[ca98am79]

yeah maybe - but from a purely humor standpoint, it wasn't that funny

I prefer "wtf" AND funny, like these skittles commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUJ4uorYPoY

[mdasen]

I don't know what you all are talking about: clearly this is just a teaser ad for Microsoft's new Edible PC. It comes in three editions: moist ($100), chewy ($150), and moist and chewy ($350).

[swombat]

Don't forget Ultimate Moist and Chewy ($500) and Enterprise Moist and Chewy ($750)

[volida]

for those that didn't get it:

the ad shows a normal conversation between two people. it wants to show that pcs are for normal people. this is achieved because it makes you think: hey look here are two famous people discussing something normal...

that's the thought that runs in your subconsious and thats what microsoft wants, where instead the message of Apple ads is hey "we use mac, we are better than you" bullshit...which apple's message is annoyingly imprinted in their users mind, reproduced in an annoying way by most of them.

[chaostheory]

"the ad shows a normal conversation between two people."

maybe if those 2 people lived in the world of seinfeld it'd be normal... but I didn't feel it was very normal; it was weird like the sitcom

hmmm to me the message of the Apple ads isn't 'we are better than you', it's more like 'why put up with this crap anymore? life can be easier if you try something new'

[ars]

The only thing I was thinking while watching it is:

What in the world is bill gates doing in a shoe store? (Everyone knows he's a billionare.)

And: Why was seinfeld acting like his servant and/or worshiping him.

[mixmax]

If you have to explain an ad then it has failed.

[swombat]

That was most definitely not a normal conversation.

[Kilimanjaro]

Normal conversation is what people outside the window are having.

[dotcoma]

do normal people want pcs for "normal people"? Like, didn't it use to be that teens wanted to be or at least look older, married men wanted to look single, 30 years old women wanted to play lolitas once again etc? But now, "normal" people just want a brown box with a stupid OS just like everybody else. Really? Are you sure?

[rglovejoy]

The reason the ad makes no sense is that it is about nothing.

[acesamped]

seinfeld humor. "Its a show about nothing." (like everyday life nothing).

[rrf]

Spending $300m on an ad campaign to inspire consumers to reconnect with Microsoft not only feels desperate, but seems such a waste when it could have been channeled into making better products or hiring better hackers.

[JoelSutherland]

Microsoft is spending all kinds of money on both products and great hackers already. The biggest problem they have is their overall strategy.

With the cash they have on hand, I have never understood why they aren't doing more parallel development in smaller groups to let the good ideas happen organically. They continue to try to fit every new product into the existing Microsoft ecosystem -- something that is beginning to fail.

[jmtulloss]

Microsoft just took the cream of my graduating class. Their college recruiters are amazing.

[snprbob86]

I guess they feel the first step towards humanizing Microsoft is humanizing Bill Gates.

[ars]

Funny, I watched it and I though:

I guess they want to start the hero worship of bill gates. (Mind meld? A sign from above? Running into a store to be a personal servant?)

[mixmax]

This reminds me of the huge campaign they ran a couple of years back, the one with the dinosaurs, I'm sure you remember it. The idea behind it was that a load of people in offices ran around with dinosaur heads. The point of the ads were that you were a dinosaur if you didn't upgrade to the new office.

However what the ad accomplished was that Microsoft got associated with dinosaurs - they managed to brand their own software as old and cranky.

I was absolutely flabbergasted that a company with that kind of resources couldn't at least find an intern to tell them that this was a really really bad idea. This looks like more of the same...

[sdurkin]

You can almost hear the money being flushed down the tubes.

[JeremyChase]

I'm not a fan of Microsoft, but I liked the ad. One purpose of media is to get people talking, and there is plenty of buzz about this advertisement.

Jer

[Angostura]

My main thought watching the advert was, "that's sad, Bill Gates steps down from running Microsoft, and now spends his time in discount shoe stores?"

I'm honestly not trying to take a dig at the ad, but it did feel rather tragic.

[jgamman]

i liked it. it reminded me of the way william shatner has reinvented himself by hamming up his old cliche. he is now way more interesting. if bill gates could PR himself the role of 'PC genius doofus dropped back into normal world' with the help of some off the wall humour of JS - i think this could be a really interesting ad-war.

[watmough]

Yeah, maybe John Hodgeman could be tapped to play the part of the doofus.

I'll await further installments with interest. Maybe someone a bit more young and trendy could be be picked to play alongside the Gates / Hodgeman PC-analog...

[river_styx]

It's nonsensical, unfunny, and just lame. Sorry Microsoft, but you will never be able to catch up with Apple culturally.

[fauigerzigerk]

I think that's exactly the point they're trying to make: We may never catch up with Apple culturally, just as Warren Buffett may never catch with some sleek hedge fund type culturally. We're normal people, but we're still kind of funny and get things done (such as earning a billion or ten) without worrying too much about fashion.

[volida]

try understanding the ad. it's actually a very smart ad

[senthil_rajasek]

Can buying a shoe that fits your feet be so difficult? Actually it is, for me at least... Personally, for me it is the shirt. Even if you find a shoe that fits you there are onlookers criticizing that its not the right fit for you.

Now, how about getting the right operating system for your personal computer? Can some company satisfy every customer find their perfect operating system?. Its a challenge, I would say... and then there are some who want it moist and chewy, not dry and crunchy.

Just my interpretation and a thought that crossed my mind as I was trying to download a patch for my machine...

[rms]

This advertising campaign will be a great critical success. It's a sublimely entertaining advertisement and a really nice thing to do for Bill Gates. This 300MM blitz will really humanize Bill Gates to the TV watching public.

Of course, even the best advertising company can't save Microsoft. They need a miracle.

How long do you think it will take for the market cap of Amazon and Google to surpass Microsoft? In 100 years and beyond, Microsoft will disappear and Google will achieve immortality, at least until we abolish capitalism.

[pwk]

"In 100 years and beyond, Microsoft will disappear and Google will achieve immortality"

I suspect that, in a mere 25 years, Google will get the same respect that Microsoft does today (ie some, at least from some quarters, but much less than heyday levels). Some young bucks will come along with the same combination of smarts and business savvy and build the next big thing, and lots of the bright people currently at Google will have retired or moved on to other things.

[vaksel]

sure it does...it says: "look at us, we are microsoft, we have a ton of money"

[trominos]

Did you guys see Bee Movie? Did you see the Jerry Seinfeld ads for it?

Compared to the BM ads, especially, this is pretty funny. (I actually think it's decent on its own, but I've always been a big Seinfeld fan.)

It doesn't do much for MS's image, though, as far as I can tell. I thought Bill Gates was already popularish? The problem is the company.

[acesamped]

Have you guys watched the Seinfeld tv series? Its really the same kind of humor. lol. I found it funny

As much as we may hate to think it, in the end, I think Microsoft wins again because we DID watch the ad didn't we?

Jerry and his comedy is the bait.

We now know microsoft is up to something "delicious." whoopie.

[Dobbs]

I think Microsoft wins again because we DID watch the ad didn't we?

The problem with your statement, is that watches mean nothing if they do not sell the item. Selling the item means nothing if people don't view the ad.

One does not work without the other. In this case its getting views but its not selling, educating or performing anything to those views. This ad is nothing but empty views.

[joshu]

I certainly hope not.

[joshu]

I am infinitely freaked out by the text "delicious" at the end of the clip.

[rms]

I thought this was great. Surreal seems very appropriate.

[kul]

we're all talking about it