Microsoft's much-dissected Seinfeld/Gates ad may be taking a lot of heat, but it has its fans--and among them is a comedian with a globally impressive title.
(By the way, PC World Senior Editor Tim Moynihan has a different take--he thinks the ad is underrated.)
Now, I could have told you that the shoe-centric spot was funny. It exemplifies everything comical about Jerry Seinfeld--the obsessions over random minutia, the reality of the every day and often awkward nature of life, the churros. (All right, I'm not sure what churros have to do with Jerry, but something about them is inexplicably amusing.) I'm no authority, though. So I turned to someone who is--and as it turns out, this rising star is more qualified than I ever could have imagined.
Iliza Schlesinger blew away the competition to win NBC's Last Comic Standing this summer. I knew she was full of laughs, but I had no idea she actually worked in advertising before picking up the comedy bug.
"[That's] why I'm so into watching commercials," she confessed.
Schlesinger may not be at the Seinfeld level of stardom yet, but she's rapidly making a name for herself--and if there's one thing this woman can appreciate, it's a funny moment.
"I thought it was hilarious," she told me. "Any time someone who isn't an actor also acts, like an athlete or someone like Bill Gates, that's awesome."
Gates' final scene butt wiggle is what pushed Schlesinger over the edge. (For the record, he was eating a churro at that same moment.)
"I think that's the great thing about comedy. Even people that seem so serious--everyone has a little bit of comedy in them, and you never know what people will do," Schlesinger said.
So then the ultimate question: Will our Last Comic Standing be swayed to the side of Vista?
"I'm a sucker for good advertising. That doesn't mean I'm going to trade in my Mac for a PC, though," she laughed.
Blast. Maybe a few more churro-filled ads, and she'll change her mind.
