Talk Nerdy To Me: Seinfeld + Gates = Underrated?

The first installment of Microsoft's new $300 million ad campaign, starring Jerry Seinfeld and somebody named Bill Gates, is the subject of much hemming and hawing across the Web.

The early feedback suggests that the commercial was, at the very least, confusing, and at the very worst, an unmitigated disaster. Computerworld's Preston Gralla even goes so far as to call it the worst TV ad ever.

In case you haven't seen it, here it is.

But here's why I liked it: Microsoft isn't telling you to do anything, they sure as hell aren't trying to be "cool," and in the span of one minute and thirty seconds, they have created a piece that is as meaningful as what most are touting as meaningless.

Of course, this campaign was touted as a "response" to Apple's extremely successful Mac vs. PC commercials, in which author/comedian John Hodgman plays the stodgy old Windows operating system, repeatedly foiled by the much younger and hipper Justin Long, who portrays the Mac.

Rather than "respond," it seems Microsoft and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency that developed the campaign, are opting to take the high road. There is no anti-Apple mudslinging. There are no inflated claims about what Microsoft's products can do. The commercial isn't suggesting that purchasing a certain brand of consumer goods makes you cooler; in fact, the unabashedly geeky exchange between Seinfeld and Gates in a discount shoe store -- over churros -- underscores the fact that they're not trying to be cool at all.

In short, the company isn't responding to Apple's "we're cooler than you" campaign. That's a great idea, much like not responding to a message-board troll is a great idea, too; the ensuing back-and-forth just means you've stooped to their level. Instead, the campaign embraces the "uncool" tag that Apple has thrust upon them, and that alone makes them much cooler than self-proclaimed coolness.

Oh, and then there's this important detail: Seinfeld and Gates play themselves in the commercial, not symbolic embodiments of operating systems or commercial products. To me, this is the real "response": they, like everyone else, are real people.

They shop for shoes at discount stores (well, at least in this commercial). Just like everyone else, their conversations and debates are often meaningless. Just like us, they sometimes daydream about absurd scenarios -- showering with shoes on and edible, cakelike computers, for example. The subtle message here is that there is a huge difference between being a person and being a consumer product. Taken one step further, it suggests that there is a huge problem with defining how "cool" you are based on the products you buy.

In this sense, the spot also subtly exposes the nature of commercials. It provokes viewers to form their own conclusions about what is being advertised, rather than to simply believe what is being told to them by the company that's selling the product. In fact, if you were to take this commercial's message at face value, you'd believe that Microsoft will soon be coming out with a delicious, cakelike computer. The inherent absurdity hints that consumers should take all commercials with a grain of salt and encourages them to examine things more deeply.

Many argue that while the commercial is entertaining, there's nothing in it to remind the viewer that it's a Microsoft spot; as such, it fails as a marketing device. I disagree; Bill Gates's presence alone makes it clear that it's a Microsoft commercial. And just like in his retirement video, Gates shows he has no qualms in poking fun at himself, his public persona, and even his infamous mugshot.

Taken as the first installment of a campaign, I like the spot even more for its future potential. Seinfeld was a sitcom hugely known for its "meaninglessness," but like The Simpsons, it also created an intricate alternate world known well by its fans: a world filled with Art Vandelays, yada-yadas, Festivus, and sudden Kramer entrances.

In this first spot, several elements have that Seinfeldian, realistic-alternate-reality feel: Shoe Circus, the Shoe Circus Clown Club, and The Conquistador shoe, for example. It's a 90-second hybrid of Seinfeld meets Twin Peaks: mundane, absurdist comedy combined with a heaping helping of "what the hell is going on here?"

And in terms of creating buzz, the commercial was definitely a success. Everyone's talking about it. (Read what the winner of the Last Comic Standing show has to say about the ad.)

All in all, that's just one person's opinion. What do you think?