First Seinfeld Vista Ad is Out: And Makes No Sense
You might not be the only one underwhelmed by the new $300 million advertising campaign Microsoft launched last night featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. The new ad was aired initially during the NFL kickoff game on NBC and is also available now on Windows.com. (Maybe not so ironically, the video is only playing for me in Internet Explorer - not Firefox.)
In the new ad, Seinfeld finds Gates in a discount shoe shop and starts sizing up his shoe size (10). When Gates says that the shoes he was trying on are too tight, Seinfeld comes with his idea of making them looser, wondering if Bill ever tried wearing his shoes in the shower (Bill said "never"). In the end, Gates gives Seinfeld a wiggle confirming that Microsoft is going to come out "with something moist and chewy like cake." Yep, that's it... Just one reference to Microsoft and nothing else.
Trying to figure out all this shoe trying and how will this make us like Vista more, Bill Veghte, Microsoft's SVP, explains in an internal email to all Microsoft employees (obtained by TechCrunch) that the overall goal of the ad campaign is to "tell the story of how Windows enables a billion people around the globe to do more with their lives today." Well, obviously not the first ad in the campaign, in which Gates wiggles his posterior at the camera.
Nevertheless, Veghte continue explaining in his email that this first phase of the campaign "is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows - a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity." Let's check the facts then. The ad also features what appears to be a Mexican-American family staring through the shop's window at the two characters, speaking in Spanish and going on about "The Conquistador" (the tight shoes Bill was trying on). 
Gates has also a club card for the already discount shoe store and Seinfeld offers Gates a bite of his cheese stick (Bill refuses). I guess all the bits above are part of the "humanity" in the new Microsoft ad, depicting various contemporary American stereotypes. Are they the target of this campaign? Will Vista benefit them?
And to refresh your memory, in August Microsoft announced that it hired Jerry Seinfeld (the comedian) for its new marketing campaign, reported to cost $300 million. The new campaign is meant as a response to Apple's "Get a Mac" ads, that depict Windows as uncool and unsafe. Seinfeld is reportedly paid $10 million for his role in the spots. The agency in charge of the campaign production is TBWA/Chiat/Day.
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I think the ad is funny. if the object is to entertain.. it worked. I understand that this doesn't really say much about Vista, but I think I'll give Microsoft a pass on that for now. I think Microsoft wanted to make a splash with this ad and have fun with it. I think we'll see a more serious attempt at promoting Vista in the next ad.
TBWA/Chiat/Day does the Apple ads. Microsoft is with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, who did those disturbing Burger King ads
Funny ad.
While I love Seinfeld, asking him to promote Vista is a joke. Why not spend the money on making Vista better! I'm marginal on my opinion on the Vista I have and would easily go back to XP if not for DirectX 10. Stop creating bloatware and focusing on your image!
I have to say that, being a big fan of Seinfeld, and a Mac user (even though not a Mac guy) expecting this counter Mac ad with anxiety, I'm very disappointed by this ad. There are a lot of counter "Get a Mac" videos on YouTube better off than this ad, for instance, the fact that you can't draw/sign on Mac (no TabletMac other than ModBook), or that your paycheck wouldn't come by doing "fun stufs" on Mac. YouTube users are apparently more creative than whoever created this ad.
This ad highlighted Bill's ego and users' ignorant played by Seinfeld that praised Bill as a smart/brilliant guy "like a Saturn with rings", while in fact, Bill was no longer with Microsoft. That Bill's "wiggle" thing to Jerry's ignorant question added to that, I was so disgusted by it, as a user I actually took it as a contempt; does Microsoft really think and try to picturize computer users as "stupid/foolish"? I agree that Microsoft should instead invest money on making Vista better than this stupid ad.
It works with Opera on Linux.
A very odd commercial...
First:
* Churros are not cheese sticks. They are sugar-dipped deep-fried bread sticks. Or 'Cake Sticks' if you will. Moist and Chewy. Mm-hmm..
* The discount shoe store could be an analogy for, discount / cheap computers for the 'rest of us', e.g., those who shop at Shoe Pavillion rather than Macy's, discount PC's instead of boutique Apple stores....
* The Conquistador could be Vista: kinda tight. People do contortions to make it work. But it's good and solid, good enuff for Bill Gates -- platinum credentials! -- to buy 'em. A 10.
* Will Windows ever be 'moist and chewy' (like a Mac perhaps?) Yes, we secretly have plans to catch them. The butt-shake was the secret-decoder-ring answer that no one can decipher. I certainly can't decipher why anyone would want to see Bill Gates shake his butt.
* Bill is stodgy, but he likes Seinfeld and ultimately buys his own Churro, too: late to the party, but.... (ok no more butt jokes).
Shoe store setting , seams familiar , ah yes -Al Bundy the shoe salesman of a couple of decades ago if I recall.
He used to cock up everything he did -, and Seinfeld said his show was about nothing.
It makes perfect sense.