Poll: Is Microsoft's new ad working?
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Sep 5th 2008 9:21AM
posted Sep 5th 2008 9:21AM
From: Bill Veghte
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 5:37 PM
To: Microsoft - All Employees (QBDG)
Subject: Telling the story of Windows
Since it first launched nearly 25 years ago, Windows has been one of the most successful products in the history of the high tech industry. As we set our sights on the next 25 years, it is essential that we deliver incredible offerings on a great platform. We must also tell the story of how Windows enables a billion people around the globe to do more with their lives today. We must inspire consumers with the promise of what Windows uniquely makes possible across the PC, phone and web.
Telling our story means making significant investments to improve the way consumers experience Windows. To that end, we are focused on making improvements at practically every consumer touch point, from the moment they hear about the Windows brand in our advertising to how they learn more about Windows products online; from how they view Windows and try it at retail to how they use the entire range of Windows offerings – Windows Vista, Windows Mobile and Windows Live – across their whole life.
Today, we are kicking off a highly visible advertising campaign. The first phase of this 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. The first in this series of television ads airs initially in the U.S., and it aims to re-ignite consumer excitement about the broader value of Windows. The first television spot aired on NBC during the opening game of the NFL season and will be seen throughout the evening on various primetime programs. Worldwide, you can view this first TV spot at http://msw.
This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we'll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I'll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows – one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.
wish i was first with windows too!
Ok it's way too early to take a poll like this when the email clearly says:
"Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we'll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go."
Why take a poll right now?
Trying to explain to people that it's the first commercial in a series is pointless. Hell, I was watching it with friends, and they didn't even get the thinly veiled bashing of Shoe Carnival. They aren't computer people though, and they did laugh, so I guess it's effective in that sort of way. When Bill moved his ass at the end, I lost my shit in a big way.
@Tinu -- The email is pretty explicit in saying what it hopes this ad will achieve: "The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows" and "The first in this series of television ads airs initially in the U.S., and it aims to re-ignite consumer excitement about the broader value of Windows."
Seems like as good a time as any to wonder if it's having the intended effect!
While being not very fond of Microsoft products for well known reasons any new strategy to kick that stinky Apple "business all locked up model" will work. Go ahead and kick that Apple Bill !!! I would even put up with dancing monkey Balmer !
I personally like the Tony Romo ad better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84QBn9BGro
@ BananaBoat:
wait, I dont get the Shoe Carnival joke... care to enlighten me please?
It must be working considering EVERY BLOG ON THE NET is covering it. Ah the sweet smell of successful revenge. DIE MAC DIE!
"The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows"
they chose a poor time to do this. who wants to engage in conversations about windows? football season just started. they should have waited for the offseason to do this.
@Anonymoose
Sure, that's why no-one on the web is covering it.
Oh wait.
But this is just the peak of Microsoft's fundamental misconception: assuming that the majority of their sales base are actually competent. The simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of computer owners are dullards who lack the mental faculties to reason for themselves.
That's why Apple's ads have been getting stupider and plainer. In the latest one, PC just blatantly goes and says "fear of switching is what keeps PC customers". I think it's the worst kind of ad campaign, based on slander and unsubstantiated opinion (basically the equivalent of any political ad), especially since they're not even mentioning their virtues anymore (Apple certainly does have some). It just goes to show how far Apple is stuck up its own ass. But there's clearly a reason behind it – it's banal enough to get through the thick skulls of the "other" 90%.
I showed the commercial to my wife this morning, and her reaction was "Oh my God!". She said she wanted 3 minutes back (an additional one and a half minutes for her suffering).
Out of the commercial's one and a half minutes, a full minute is spent talking about shoes. It's only in the last few seconds that Seinfeld asks Gates about what Microsoft is planning for the future (not what they have that's worth anything right now).
The ad line at the end of the commercial is "The future... delicious". I think they might as well have replaced that with "If you don't like Vista, wait a few years... We'll try again".
And I have to say that watching Bill Gates adjust a wedgie up his butt by wiggling his fat ass is not cute or funny. It's barf-inducing!
If Microsoft had spent that $300-$500 Million on creating a better OS, rather than on these commercials, they would have been much better off. But I think they are counting on the general stupidness of their customers.
I dunno how I feel about the ad. I mean, sure, everyone says "it's working," but it's not like Bill Gates was the problem with Microsoft. All this ad does is build Bill Gates' brand (that is, himself and his image), not Microsoft's, and certainly not Vista's.
I think the ad is kind of brilliant. The naysayers who say nay because they can't figure out what it's about amuse me - then why are you here talking about this new ad for Windows? Obviously you were not all that confused.
Bill Gates is an iconic figure. Yes, most people do know who he is. What else would they think he was advertising but a Microsoft product? The fact that he *doesn't* actively do that at all makes the ad interesting. I kept waiting for the pitch... and there was none. Just a little Windows logo at the end.
And now we are all talking about it.
I certainly understand it as the first in a series. It's generated a lot of buzz, first for Seinfeld being involved, and now because it's just kind of wacky as marketing goes. But I expect the next few ads in the series will be more conventional. I kinda hope they aren't, though. I like this new Bill who's old and rich enough that he doesn't really even care what anyone thinks of himself or his OS anymore.
@ Mark Anderson and Supergooman
In that case I remember everyone on the "internets" were also covering the Zunes at launch, did that equate success?
@HunterXI: I agree completely on Apple's ads. I've never had a big problem with Apple's products, aside from the simple fact that I don't have a personal use for any of them, but their ad campaign is becoming exactly as you say it is-- stupider and plainer. Even if I find a desire to use one of their products for myself, I think I would rather find an alternative because of the way they are presenting themselves and their products.
As for the new Microsoft ad (part 1 through ?) I liked it. Casual and certainly an icebreaker for what's to come. I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.
It was a funny commercial but it says nothing about Windows or Vista.
I hope people go out and actually compare OSX to Vista and make up their own mind about what they need.
You want to know whats awesome?
Having your girlfriend buy an HP system last week that comes with Vista 64 preinstalled. It has since randomly stopped outputting sound twice now after Microsoft Updates. You have to reinstall 3rd party Realtek drivers to get it to work again. It wouldn't work with a five month old wireless card. They released Vista 32 drivers, but not Vista 64. "Vista Compatible" means what now? I had to yet again find third party drivers from a company I've never heard of "RA Tech" and manually install them by hand to get it working. The onboard NVidia drivers are now asking to install a networking controller. I have no idea what this even means, I thought NVidia was video only. This was all withing ONE WEEK of owning the new machine.
I mean, if I didn't deal with computers for a living, I don't know what I would have done.
To me, Vista is simply broken.
You can blame it on the companies releasing substandard drivers, the vendor not integrating properly, or whatever else you want. Fact is, most people who are not tech saavy will care. They'll take it back and end up with a Mac.
Microsoft needs to come out with their own proprietary systems like Apple does. If they want to give us the "Vista Experience" they need to put it on lockdown, only use specific hardware, and lock everyone else out.
@Dave95
And your point was...?
No, seriously.
Oh. You don't have one.
...
Next.
@L8on
Shoe Carnival is basically a junk store where they happen to sell shoes. Moms bring their toddlers because it's got games for them to play, and there are flashing lights etc, but for anyone over the age of 10, it'll make you want to vomit. On top of that, the shoes they sell are generally really cheap shoes that only children would want anyway. It's basically a slightly fancier version of payless. So to have Bill Gates (at times the richest man in the world) shopping in one (I believe it says "Shoe Circus" in the commercial) is hilarious. It's even more hilarious because of Bill's reputation as being a gigantic tightwad with his money (It's actually believable that he'd shop in that type of place to save money). Personally I don't think Jerry Seinfeld brought anything particularly interesting to the commercial (I'd much rather have seen John Stewart in the role, or Steve Carrell) but I'd like to see where it's going. I'm not sure what angle they were playing with the wide eyed Mexicans that were commenting on Bill's shoes though...maybe they see an untapped market segment there?
There is nothing they can do to get me to switch to vista, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy their ads.
if you have to explain it, big epic fail!
After reading some of the articles going on at Engadget, I finally asked my friend who has a mac for a OSX installable dvd to install on my PC. It couldn't run in vmware or a proper install and kept crashing on my AMD Athlon 64 even as vista was running perfectly. I found out that OSX does not support 90% of the computers configurations out in the world. i know that apple sells hardware rather than software, but still why do people compare a Software OSX which cannot even run in 50% forget 90 % of the computers in the world to something Vista / XP which atleast runs on my 7 year old pc to my latest quad core pc.
I then used my friends mac and i feel It is very misleading in the ads to say that a MAC is better when i can't even choose my own configuration, can't play my games, have to lose most of my favorite programs. i use Ubuntu hardy for normal home, windows xp for gaming and vista for office and these OS's plainly support all my computers. Why should i spend money on buying a software restricted non user upgradeable new mac when i can buy windows which runs on all my existing pcs. i do not understand why people lie so blatendly by saying mac is better when it can run only on a fraction of computers and an even lesser fraction of software.
I'm sorry but this commercial was just plain confusing.
WTF did it have to do with Windows.
Based on how long they actually showed their logo, I'd say they are just the primary sponsors of a new show called Bill and Jerry...
Is Steve Jobs the new Newman?
He's not the new Newman he's the new George/Kramer/Elaine..... Can't ya tell from the commercial?
Get out of here!
Have you ever looked into Newmans eyes? He's pure evil.
I think it's perfect. It's got *everything* to do with Windows. It's confusing, meaningless, and just random. Like Vista, it seems to have been written by a flange of baboons.
Yes, Low Rank me, you Vista fanboys. Your obtuseness can't be defeated.
hahaha...Seinfeld is balding like George Costanza, maybe that's why he's playing 'Costanza' to Bill's 'Jerry' or maybe if you pay Seinfeld enough, he'll be anybody's little clown.
@who: "Microsoft hired comedian Jerry Seinfeld and CEO-gone-comedian Bill Gates on a new ad campain" :)
Again, people are willfully not understanding the point of the commercial. This is an introduction to the campaign. They're just setting up the sales pitch and you questioning whether the sales pitch is effective. Let them get to it first! Geez, some people never resist an opportunity to be stupid.
So Microsoft has an ad campaign less than half of the world will get (without your help), and the rest of us have to put effort into understanding and follow it like a soap? Brilliant (not).
They should have stuck to just lying to their customers... (Mojave)
Actually it's more like the wizard of oz where the wizard does something grandiose (in the ad's case it does something warm and fuzzy) while trying to keep you from looking behind the curtain. Or perhaps it's more akin to the emperor and his new clothes. Not saying nobodies ever done those things before but it's a new ploy for Microsoft and it feels "unnatural" coming from Bill G. Time will tell whether it hits the right chords with consumers. Techies and fanbouys aren't going to be swayed by this campaign.
@Chad
Techies and fanboys are a small portion of the marketplace. They are going after a larger mainstream market, just like Nintendo said "screw techies and fanboys" and went after casual gamers. The problem is, Microsoft has proven time and time again that they don't understand the mainstream market the way that Apple and Nintendo understand them.
The Mac PC ads get their point across, with humor, and in a smaller time slot.
The ad is poorly designed if it cannot do this.
The "window mohave" experiment ads are better, but it jumps into the pitfall of focus groups: people lie.
All in all, I'm not a fan of their new ad campaigns, but it's a start for them. I guess they're just not used to having competition to deal with
@RC:
That assumes that viewers will see both this intro and the subsequent episodes. Considering that this intro was so long, it's very doubtful they'll be showing it much more. And only football fans saw it. Followups then are stuck being in football timeslots; they can't show them during Desperate Housewives or Mythbusters or Cash Cab. That's the danger of having episodic advertising--it handcuffs you. It's therefore a pretty risky move and may not gain MS much. It certainly doesn't do what Ballmer said it would, counter Apple's assault.
Most people ARE missing the point of this commercial. It's just a way to associate Bill/Windows with the average person. Bill's prison mugshot is used as his super saver club and shopping at a cheap shoe store for pleather shoes makes Bill human...not some pretentious ass shoving products down our throats. Jerry is just there to liven things up a bit. Anyways, you like Bill because he's the victim and he's not saying that he's better than anybody. It's human nature.
The ad is about buying cheap shoes. Then stretching it and working out the kinks to make it work for you...
wha
It's a comparison to Windows. It doesn't work right, unless you put your computer in the shower.
what the ad might be saying is.."hey , your foot/pc is feeling a little cramped by your shoe/OS. maybe you should try this new, bigger and more comfortable shoe/OS"
what the ad might be saying is.."hey , your foot/pc is feeling a little cramped by your shoe/OS. maybe you should try this new, bigger and more comfortable shoe/OS"
@sinjinn
Or they want everyone to try using Vista in the shower. See how that goes for ya!
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=665498&st=60&p=589744146&#entry589744146
"Sure .. it's kinda a funky ad but it has a different style of humour (a style which isn't populair anymore, it was more prominent in the 90's). Most people don't get the point... it's not about promoting anything.
You'll get more of these ... and then you'll say "ohhhh".
I have 10 times more respect for this commercial then those mindless MacVsPC which are dumb and downright wrong.
Does this promote Vista? No, it doesn't has to do that.
Take up communication / PR course 101 and you'll know why.. "
Yes, but what if someone blinked?!?! They'd miss the logo!
Absolutely. I love it. (Obligatory self identification: I got a Mac last year and an iPhone over the labor day weekend.) "Leather." etc. Great stuff out there humor. Microsoft as a zany idea is something the world needs.
How can it make Windows more palatable and interesting when it wasn't even a commercial for Windows? It was an image enhancer, that's all. And in that respect, it is awesome. I watched the thing about a dozen times and it is genuinely hilarious. It succeeds in making Microsoft look like they care.
Microsoft cares about sales and maintaining their monopoly. Period. .
People are generally stupid. Microsoft knows this. They're being gentle at first.
So does Apple but, Apple actually uses them in their commercials...
Ellen Feis commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2-UuIEOcss
The ad was to get everybody talking about microsoft. Not VISTA . The ad is all over the net now.
This ad is about a) Seinfeld & b) Gates which automatically makes it awesome. BRB, upgrading to vista.
Google news search reports "about 1,464" hits for "microsoft + seinfeld." It's working.
Only problem is, they are competing with apple's version. Google "mac vs pc" and you get 1,530,000
and in my opinion i didnt like this ad very much it didnt really promote microsoft more the fact that bill is iconic and now jerry is part of a partnership. Thats all.......
@JJV
There's a good chance that nowhere near to the 1,530,000 "mac vs. pc" sites are referring to the ads: they're more likely referring to the concept of comparing a mac to a pc.
There's significantly less chance that "microsoft + seinfeld" is referring to anything but the commercials.
The more I think about the commercial, the more I like it. And that's the thing: Microsoft wants you to think about the commercial. What in the world could Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld (eating a churro, no less) be doing shooting a commercial in a shoe store? It seems to me that Microsoft has a winner: two likable personalities shooting a tongue-in-cheek commercial that doesn't assume the consumer is a total dumbass. I approve.
Oh, and a side note: they should find a way to incorporate Kramer into the next set of commercials. I could only imagine what his reaction would be if Bill and Jerry pulled a Mohave-like experiment on him.
And depict Newman as a Mac!
Both eating churros! That's what they were selling, right? And the Conquistadors? They run small? I can't tell anymore, I got my eyes burned out watching Mr. Bill attempt to wiggle his ass... O.o
@Alex: I doubt they'll be including Kramer any time soon. If they did he'd probably just lash out at the Latino couple.
@ jakem
As a huge fan of Seinfeld, I felt it was necessary to suggest the inclusion of Cosmo Kramer.
And I'm not suggesting including Michael Richards, but rather, his completely amazing character.
I work in Advertising, and as long as the general mass is computer stupid, and the mass media has gotten off the "let's bash Vista" band wagon, consumers will believe that Vista is the OS they feel comfortable with, because they have seen it on TV. So now the general media has gotten off the bash vista band wagon, MS swoops in to clean up and re-assure consumers that thier product Vista is good and good for them. Even if MS is will "trick" consumers with odd and hidden message Ads.
So the only way the Ads will fail, is if the general media hop back on the lets bash vista band wagon and helps consumers remember why vista is bad - and why it it still bad.
BTW - I had vista for about 3 months and I reverted back to XP.
-B
"BTW - I had vista for about 3 months and I reverted back to XP."
Awesome! That makes your opinion more credible AND believable!
Tool.
None of the choices fit. I think the campaign works so far, but it doesn't change anything about the perception of Vista, nor is it suppose to. It succeeds at making Microsoft appear kinder and gentler, which is obviously what it is suppose to do. It's like all those Exxon commercials during the Olympics.
It open the door to something that could be interesting and even good.
10 million dollars, right down the crapper.
These poll choices are bad. They don't even let someone who understands the ad select one that corresponds to their thinking. The author of the post is clueless here.
All I can say is... HOMERUN!
The new commercial really comes out and reinforces MicroSoft's reputation as unimaginative, baffling and stale - the cornerstones the company has built on for the last thrity years. BRAVO!
I was a little bit disappointed in the club card picture - Using the 1977 NM mugshot was a little too humourous for my taste. That type of self-deprication clearly slipped by the Borg in late post-production and somebody will undoubtable be beaten senseless for its inclusion.
All in all, a masterstroke - I can't wait for the next in the series. Perhaps Jerry's will be driving down the street in his new car running Windows 2009 Ultimate Automotive Edition. It will look flashy, but will be driving at half the speed of the other cars and will require frequent turns of the ignition key at unopportune times to restart it.
Again guys fantastic work - by being so incredibly dull, you make John Hodgman look more exciting - totally undercutting Apple's ads.
your sarcasm is as thick and unwitty as goerge bush at a state of the union address.
FAIL
WOW, you're ignorant.
Let me enlighten you with a direct quote from Microsoft's Auto Divison site.
"Carmakers and suppliers around the globe have based their automotive infotainment solutions on Microsoft’s platforms. Drivers and passengers can now experience Microsoft Auto or Windows Automotive technology in over 150 preinstalled and aftermarket devices from 18 world-class automakers and suppliers including Acura, BMW, Citroën, Clarion Co. Ltd., Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Subaru, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, NexTech, Toyota and Volvo."*
Your car comment made you look extra dumb. Considering that the Ford Sync system (made by Microsoft) is praised for its excellence and making such a system affordable to the public (prior systems by luxury automakers ranged $1250-$7500), you completely F'ed up that comment. By the way, I own a car with COMMAND and would switch over to the Microsoft system in a heartbeat.
I guess since all of the top rated most reliable cars manufacturers use Microsoft technology, everything Microsoft makes must be crap...huh?
* - http://www.microsoft.com/auto/partners.mspx
Is this a "commercial about nothing?" After all that's what Seinfeld, the show, was all about. Although I like Jerry, I don't think he'd influence me in my decision to install Vista. Just like Justin Long is not going to do it for the Mac. One of my new PCs came with Vista, and I re-installed XP. I don't need Vista.
Did you even try Vista? Or did you just immediately revert to XP because you heard that Vista was a horrible OS that was pointless and a hog and would eat your first born if you let it boot up?
This campaign is about changing that perception that caused you to revert to XP because you think you "don't need Vista". I probably don't need Vista either. Hell, I probably could've made due with Win2K to be honest. But Vista does have some nice features, and I think it's a great OS and a worthwhile improvement over XP for the average user. Sadly, the average user doesn't see that - they see Apple commercials telling them that PCs are all work and no fun. This ad, while kind of pointless and about nothing, does show that even the (former) CEO of the company can act a bit silly. It attempts to make a personal connection with people, using a comedian that many people already feel they have a personal connection with. I like it, and I think it's going to work. If nothing else it's getting them a hell of a lot of press, and for a change it's not negative.
Do you think Captain Turtleneck would be caught dead in a commercial eating a churro and wiggling his ass?
Aren't MAC all about all work? I mean the movie and arts industry use them for work related tasks primarily.
So a PC(P.retty C.ool) is for fun and everything else and a MAC (M.ostly A.gonizing C.rap) is for work only.
I just wish old Gates would BUY APPLE OUT! He's got the coin to do it. Just monopolize the industry why don't ya, please....
@Forrest
I use my computers for more than just bs stuff like email and browsing the internet. I don't have the time, nor money, to deal with Vista's demands. XP is fully capable of doing everything I need my PC to do. What does Vista offer me that XP doesn't? I'm not talking about the eye candy. Nothing. I don't fall for Apple's or MS's marketing nonsense, after all, MS owns a big chunk of Apple's stock. I have an old G4 that is still using Panther. I haven't updated the OS because I don't need to. Same thing with my Windows XP machines. XP works well for me.
Regarding "personal connections", although I like "Seinfeld", I don't think Jerry is a very reliable source to influence me in my OS choices. Like I said, neither Jerry Seinfeld, nor Justin Long, is going to influence in picking my OS of choice. If I had time to bs around, I'd play around with Vista, but I don't.
Understood, Rob. Although to this point I've found using Vista easier than getting an XP box up and going. I manage about 16 PCs here in my office that run XP, and my laptop runs Vista. I use pretty demanding applications, and I use Vista all day every day in a technical business environment.
One very simple example - I needed to print to a printer in my office the other day that I'd never printed to before. Why had I never printed to it? Because with XP my machine never wanted to discover the printer, and I'd have had to go download HP's bloated nasty 50 MB print driver 'package' for it. But I finally did need to print something to it from my laptop, so I figured I would give the old 'search for printers on my network' thing a try in Vista. I was shocked that it not only found the printer, but had the driver for it. The whole process took less than a minute, when in XP it would've taken me as long as 15 minutes depending on how clogged my local tube to the internet was that day.
I'm all for people choosing their own OS, but the fact remains that you don't think there is enough benefit for you in Vista for you to even waste your valuable time to check it out. I think these ads are trying to convince people in your situation that Vista really is worth a look.
But Rob has time to read engadget and write posts about not having time ....
"So a PC(P.retty C.ool) is for fun and everything else and a MAC (M.ostly A.gonizing C.rap) is for work only." - Soopergooman
Brilliant 7th-grade-level acronym humor! About as humorous as the Seinfeld Microsoft ad. Well done!
FAIL.
Rob: " MS owns a big chunk of Apple's stock." Wrong. MS bought 150,000 shares of NONVOTING Apple stock in 1997, and Apple bought it back a while after that. It was part of Microsoft's ongoing agreement to continue to support Office for the Mac. At that time, Apple had over a billion dollars in CASH sitting in the bank, so any delusions of Microsoft "saving" Apple by buying those nonvoting shares is just that - delusion.
Zak, you're right, but maybe next time a little nicer?
They really should have used to cavemen from the Geico commercials...
Quite truthfully, the cake is a lie!!!!
Given that the average consumer doesn't really pay attention to commercials unless they're catchy in some way--I hate the FreeCreditReport.com ads, but they sure know how to get stuck in my head--I don't see what is essentially a miniseries between a billionaire and a TV icon having the overall impact MS is hoping for. Say what you will about the Apple "Mac vs PC" ads, at least they're self-contained. I'm not a fanboy for either camp, but this 90 second introductory commercial is only piquing my interest in that I wonder if later ads are going to actually advertise and/or promote a product.
Some Ads do not need to be catchy to work . think about repetition. If you are overwhelmed with an Ad it will eventually stick, regardless of the message, or appeal. The bigger tick is to not beat the Ad down a consumer throat, but to make sure the "thought" sticks. If you over do it, people will dislike the Ad, and then think poorly of the message. Its about a fine balance of many things. And Im sure that MS has the budget to hire/contract the best of the best Ad agency to get the work done. (Although even the best of the best can fail too, will the ad work, I think it will, but only time will tell.)
I remember Microsoft and Gates always being painted as the "Evil Empire" out to destroy the world and Apple being these "Benevolent Hippies" who are nice. Is it me, or is Steve Jobs looking more and more the miserable prick every day? The limited, closed nature of all of their (albeit fabulous) products. All of their litigious attacks on (non-Apple) innovation.
I think these ads don't help sell product, but they sure do make Bill Gates seem like a lot less of a douchebag than Steve Jobs. Maybe they're more about legacy than sales.
considering the ad just came out, how the heck are you supposed to gauge a reaction?? You shoulda polled, "I like it, i dont like it" instead of "its working, its not working"
Clearly this is a campaign to show us that people like Jerry Seinfeld (what do you mean by you people?), standing comedians, do know about shoes and will help Bill get his on sight.
The more you know!
Plus, the cake is a lie!
what do YOU mean by you people?
After watching this ad i have the impression that Microsoft, after expanding beyond software and into hardware products and game consoles, will expand into selling shoes.
I was helping a friend with her new computer. Kept running into weirdness on the computer, finally said - "what OS is this?" and checked. It was Vista.
Put me into the column of people who aren't going to be swayed based on an ad.
@Anna: When you don't know what you're doing, blame the OS..lol You didn't even know what OS it was until after you ran into problems? I put you into the column of dumb people that apple made a fortune catering to and that MS has realized finally that they must cater to. People are easily manipulated and i look forward to seeing these commercials work their magic on the dumb masses such as yourself.
It doesn't sound like you were helping much...
man, the more i see of seinfeld post-sitcom, the harder it is to remember he used to actually be funny.
also, the adverts might actually do their job. not saying that all apple users are like this, but a lot of them are attracted to the products due to design and marketing (and kudos to apple, but a lot of them stick around because apple meets/exceeds their expectations with quality over functionality). microsoft just might be able to break into that community with clever ads using celebrities that appeal to the hoi polloi. eh?
It was charming, in a Jerry Seinfeld about nothing sort of way, but turning Bill Gates into a cuddly buddy character doesn't improve Microsoft's software or their sometimes evil actions as a company. And it definitely wouldn't make me buy Vista if I were an average viewer. What's the thinking here? "Oh, Bill Gates is really a person and not an android or something. I guess I should buy Vista so I don't hurt his feelings." Is that it?
Think of it as Superman meets Bizzaro Superman. You figure out which is which.... I know which is which which make me know which is which...
If it was designed to make me smile, it worked... Gates is a pretty good straightman for Sienfeld.
The only people that seem to suposidly 'get it' are the PC fanboys. Which defeats the purpose a Vista campaign to run against Apple.
The PC fanboys keep saying 'its a series' its meant to 'build up'. Only time will tell if that works out. But as is this commercial alone fails to do anything for the consumers Microsoft should want to target.
I'm an Apple user and will admit however I found it humorous. That being said there is not a chance in he!! Microsoft would ever get me to switch.
Sorry, I didn't mean to reply to your comment. It was supposed to be a general comment. :)
@Larry
I hate to break it to you, but Mac users make up such a small percentage of the market that Microsoft has absolutely no incentive to convince you to switch. Apple has to steal users from MS to survive, but MS can easily get by without converting any Mac users as long as everybody keeps upgrading their Dell every couple of years.
MS's goal here is to improve the public's perception of them. People generally think of Microsoft as an evil empire and Vista as a broken product. If MS can create a general perception that they're not as cold and heartless as people think, then maybe they can have the leverage they need to start selling people on Vista. Until then, anything they say about it will go in one ear and out the other.
We get it. You failed to grasp the point.
Let it go.
I am a PC guy all the way, and all I can think is "wtf???". That video made absolutely no sense. It didn't even really talk about Windows. At least the crappy Apple ads talk about the OS they are trying to sell.