Seinfeld and Gates get in touch with regular folks
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted September 11th 2008 11:46PM
posted September 11th 2008 11:46PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted September 11th 2008 11:46PM
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you'd think with all the money being thrown around there'd be some free acting lessons thrown in there somewhere.
As much as I think Vista is crap, these commercials are genius. Maybe they didn't pick Seinfeld because he is (or was) famous - maybe they picked him because he's funny. BillG doesn't look half bad in these either.
It's a perfect counter campaign to the "I'm a PC" ads from Apple. All they do, and all they are supposed to do, is make you feel good about Windows. And that works 100%.
why is it when i click the link for "second installment" i'm taken to the first video. shouldn't a link that says "second installment" take you to, uh, well, the SECOND installment? i've complained about engadget links before, and you guys seem to just get stupider in your linking practices.
you know guys you can get this video with better quality @ the windows website... http://www.microsoft.com/windows/
You people are fucking idiots. This wasn't funny in the least bit. Gates is so stiff he acts like there's a pole shoved up his ass and Seinfeld only works if he surrounds himself with funnier comics so he can play the bemused, smirking straight man. He has no such supporting elements here. You people should all down a bottle of sleeping pills and help clean up the gene pool.
"I've got so many cars i get stuck in my own traffic", Genius!
I don't know that I would say the Apple ads show that apple is young and hip. When I watch those ads, due to their casting choices a PC represented in a very charming in a dorky sort of hapless way and a smug, pompous douchebag representing Mac. Sure they're funny and memorable but I wouldn't say they're very good at making the Mac look desirable. (and I even own a Mac, so I ought to be biased toward them) The thing that's sort of interesting about these Seinfeld/Gates ads is that they keep the same sort of characterization of the PC from the Mac ads (albeit a little less personable as Gates is no John Hodgeman) and to an extent even have Seinfeld sort of a smug pompous douchebag foil for Gates.
I don't know why but my comment was removed;
"An excellent advertisement for Vista. It comes into your house, you
feel awed by it's presence, you give it the best you have but then it
becomes a nuisance until finally your so fed up that your blaming it
for something that it didn't really do. But eventually it will go
away so you should just live with it until it does."
Must have been edited.
I guess I just don't get the appeal. What is the point of these ads? Yes, I am a Mac user but I am not a PC hater, and I still don't get it.
It's odd that no one has touched on the fact that Microsoft didn't have a choice in the type of ad it could go with:
Promotion of Vista directly:
Can't even mention Vista without people turning their back and gagging (not deserved IMHO, but perception is reality)
Responding to Mac ads in any way:
Wouldn't even dare acknowledge that Apple (or anyone else) defining Microsoft's image bothers them. Microsoft is the market leader by far, but they know that Apple, Google, and many more to come will erode their lead substantially over the next 10 years. For the record, even Apple knows that the Mac/PC ads are childish; I'd be surprised if the campaign lasts much longer. By the way, political parties find that a 40/60 attack/positive campaign is the most effective, so the public seems to have some level of tolerance for attacks.
Re-branding of Microsoft to youth:
Utterly hopeless. You were (or still are) teenagers, and the cool thing is what the cool people are wearing/listening to/doing/using. Ramming a "cool" image down a teen's throat has the opposite effect. You have to create buzz (apparently through oversized Burger King heads - but Burger King food is mostly crap regardless). Actually, the really cool thing is doing what you think is cool, and ignoring everyone else, but that seems to only come with time. Ok, the really, really cool thing to do is to start a business that defines cool and sells/does cool things.
Something like any other ad that Microsoft has ever had (except the internal VW short between Gates and Ballmer):
Purposefully lame and uncreative to appeal to business drones over the last 20 years. The problem is that today's youth will be tomorrow's drones (save a few), and they won't give two cents about Microsoft loyalty. Ever wonder what computers Crispin Porter + Bogusky use? Other than the accounting department, it's Macs. What about video pre/post production and editing? Macs. Audio editing? Macs. Art design? Macs. And so on. My point being is that it must have killed many Crispin Porter + Bogusky employees to create an ad to help Microsoft (until they received their bonus, of course).
So, the new ads are the only thing Microsoft could have done. Bill and Gerry acknowledge their flaws in a humorous venue, thereby "owning" them again (as opposed to ignoring reality - which is dumb). It is only after acknowledging flaws and mistakes that someone (or something) can truly move ahead. They'll probably use 3 of the 12 steps: admit flaws, ask for forgiveness, be re-invented. It's that easy.
Make no mistake - behind the superficial humour, Crispin Porter + Bogusky have a team of psychologists and behavioral analysts ensuring that every pixel and sound wave imparted to your eyes and ears makes the most of $300M. I predict that the next installments will see Bill and Gerry (the protagonists or the story) undergo a fundamental change in order to reconnect with reality. Let's face it, it would be almost impossible for anyone to stay grounded with a few billion dollars. Funny, in this series of commercials, the general public is the antagonist for being opposed to flaws with Vista, Bill and Gerry (save their charitable work, which is obviously commendable). Ok, $300M, teams of experts, and a grade 9 english textbook.
By the way, don't expect Gerry to part with his Porsches, Bill to move out of his house, or Vista to change. They are what they are; these commercials are just re-humanizing what was de-humanized (mostly through the media).
Above and beyond all: make and drink your own Kool-Aid - not someone else's. Better still, invent your own drink and sell it.
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