Microsoft's new ads: Seinfeld and Gates out, Hodgman lookalike in

According to a report from in the New York Times, the next phase of Microsoft's latest ad campaign is set to begin -- sans Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Apparently, the new ads do away with the unusual (and somewhat ill-received) banter and "real life" experiences of the two celebrities, and trade them for an earnest embrace of... Apple's "PC" character. Apparently, one of the new ads even begins with a John Hodgman lookalike stating, "Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype." Beyond the flip on a rival's depiction of its brand, the campaign will feature cameos from Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra, Pharrell Williams, and even Gates -- though Seinfeld doesn't make the cut. While we're curious to see what the company cooks up in the new ads, it does strike us as somewhat odd that the supposed narrative Microsoft was establishing with Gates and Seinfeld has abruptly been abandoned in favor of these new spots. Is this a decision which was made long ago, or did the largely negative / confused reaction to the last set of ads force the company's hand? We only have its official statement to go on: "We will be executing the second phase of our advertising campaign tomorrow, as planned from the start."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[John McSame Sucks Balls @ Sep 17th 2008 9:13PM]

Now if they could just replace Vista.

[patriotsn1 @ Sep 17th 2008 9:36PM]

I like vista.

[Johan S @ Sep 17th 2008 9:58PM]

Vista is good on decent modern hardware. With 2 GB of RAM and a decent graphics card, you won't have any probs.

Microsoft made the mistake of initially selling it with low system requirements ..it didn't run properly on there so that really screwed the Windows brand.

The only shortcoming in Vista is they don't have a proper answer to Mac OS X Expose feature .. Flip3D sucks.

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 10:26PM]

Replace it? That would take another seven years! Just release it under another name- it worked before, remember Bill? At least Apple doesn't have to lie to it's customers to get them to use their OS like Microsoft.

What does the Mojave experiment say about their opinion of the consumer's intelligence? Now before you counter my argument, could you Windows users say 'moo'? It would make my day. ;-)

[cesium @ Sep 17th 2008 10:46PM]

Actually they do like "who?"
Just take a look at any apple commercial ever aired

[cesium @ Sep 17th 2008 10:52PM]

lie*

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 10:57PM]

You mean those iPods aren't really out?

Or maybe MacBooks don't exist?

Was iLife a fake?

I can't imagine what 'lie' you could be referring to. The skits are obviously bias, but not false advertising. Commercials are supposed to be bias for your side, that's why companies bother to air them! Duh!

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 10:59PM]

First ad I found on Google- no lies:

http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple_getamac_offtheair_20080818_480x272.mov

[Quix @ Sep 17th 2008 11:06PM]

@ patriotsn1:

If only you had added "and Apple sucks!" when you said "I like Vista," you would have scored an Epic Highest Rank here on the Engadget Comments Section: Redmond Division.

Better luck next time, tenderfoot.

[CraigJ @ Sep 17th 2008 11:07PM]

johan, I disagree. I've had Vista problems on 3 separate brand new high end boxes, problems that I never had with XP. But we've been down this road before, and there is no point listing all the issues.

Suffice it to say that many people have had, and continue to have issues with Vista that they didn't have with XP. This isn't just unfounded negative backlash, there are real issues, and I for one would prefer to see Microsoft spend that $300M in engineering, not marketing.

If Microsoft succeeds in getting Vista into more hands with this campaign, but doesn't address the issues with the application, this will ultimately be a win for Apple and Linux...

[justanotherperson @ Sep 18th 2008 12:43AM]

@CraigJ

i dont know though, it seems like most of the problems that vista users see are because of the influence of the negative image. if you didn't have a negative view of it, those problems probably wouldn't really be problems at all. its probably because you're practically searching them out.

[CraigJ @ Sep 18th 2008 1:15AM]

I don't think so, at least not in the majority of cases. Personally I have a number of issues that are not due to negative group think, but rather 18 months of trying to get stuff working as quickly and as easily as it did in XP. The fact that they moved and renamed a bunch of stuff isn't a problem for me, but it is for folks like my father who couldn't find add and remove programs, for example.

My primary issues are speed and resources. I have a 2.6 GHz dual core system, 4 GB RAM, dual 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 drives for my Vista 64 system and my 2.1 GHz dual core with 1 GB of RAM and 5400 RPM SATA Drive running XP is faster for most tasks, especially moving large files. And yes, I've tuned the Vista box, turned off all the security crap, turned off indexing ,etc. Vista really is slower.

XP, for all its faults is very stable with SP2. no BSOD on this system, ever (over a year), and it is very fast. OSX has it's issues as well, nothing is perfect, regardless of the marketing message.

I'll be more than happy to try Windows 7 when it ships.

[JAmerican @ Sep 18th 2008 1:44AM]

@Johan Look up Switcher...

better yet... http://insentient.net/

[Riley @ Sep 18th 2008 2:09AM]

"At least Apple doesn't have to lie to it's customers to get them to use their OS like Microsoft."

wait, which apple are we talking about here, because last time i checked, they do

[KA @ Sep 18th 2008 12:17PM]

@Johan,
That's the problem. Other operating systems can run on much lower specifications. I only have 1GB RAM and I can run OS X with few problems.

Running Linux generally has significantly lower requirements. I know someone who has a very old Linux box and someone with a new Vista notebook. The difference in speed was incredible. A python program run on Vista was sped up to make it useable. It was the far too fast to be used on the Linux machine.

The Vista notebook could run Photoshop, though, even if it was slow. It just crashed when you opened Paint.

[Level 5 @ Sep 17th 2008 9:11PM]

So full of win, I HATE the mac commercials. They're inaccurate and annoying. And PC DOES NOT mean Windows. Linux guys.. come on now.

[Pip @ Sep 17th 2008 9:17PM]

If and IF Microsoft pulls these off, it'd be great.

"Hey Mac, why don't you let your software on other machines".. Mac: "Uhh..."

"Hey Mac, why do you group PCs with Windows. PCs are an open-platform. You can run several operating systems on them.."

[Saad @ Sep 17th 2008 11:01PM]

There has to be a better way to sell windows.

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 17th 2008 9:22PM]

"There has to be a better way to sell windows."

Because with 90%+ market share, they obviously need to change up their strategy!

[WS @ Sep 17th 2008 9:54PM]

Oh please... Linux? I used Gentoo for 3 years and can safely say that a Linux character would involve 2 gallons of Coke, ramen noodles, sweatpants, and hair so greasy, it would be a fire hazard...

Linux is so far away from being a robust and viable alternative to Windows, it's not even worthy parodying... We all know that 99% of the PC machines sold are running Vista (or rather XP by the customer's request).

Inaccurate? When 80% of your users refuse to adopt your latest OS after more than a year... something is horribly wrong. You can close your eyes and put on the blinders, but Microsoft has blundered Vista and left consumers stuck with an OS that is nearly a decade old... After over a half a decade of development, Vista is pathetic. And it doesn't take Apple to point that out...

[Alex @ Sep 17th 2008 9:57PM]

@Pip:

I agree that Microsoft would actually do their name well if they could pull this off. People have a lot of negative feelings about Windows and Microsoft because of the Mac vs. PC ads from Apple, and turning those around or negating those may certainly help them out.

I don't think you picked the best examples, though - as Apple could always say, "We don't want our software on other machines, because it just works seamlessly and flawlessly on our hardware package.", or "We group PCs with Windows because it Windows holds 90% of the market share (also add something about Boot Camp ability to run Windows, and linux support, yada, yada.)"

I think that if they were to spoof the ads, they should illustrate their market share and Mojave results. (although the results themselves aren't entirely reliable - Who couldn't recognize Vista?!) "Hey Mac, why do you have an 8% market share? Why do we have 90%? (Insert creative joke that will make the statement sound less obnoxious)."

All in all, IF Microsoft spoofs the ads somehow - stick to why Windows is great, not why Mac OS X is bad. That way they could always call foul play with Apple's somewhat offensive ads.

[jon @ Sep 17th 2008 10:14PM]

@WS

What the heck were you doing running Gentoo? You just don't do that unless you fit that stereotype you tried to pass off on all of Linux.

Stick with one of the top three mainstream distros. Do NOT touch anything other than Ubuntu, Fedora, or Suse unless you have a particular reason.

[CraigJ @ Sep 17th 2008 10:25PM]

@Alex. Mojave is a joke. I'm not saying this because it's Microsoft, I'm saying it as someone who has been involved with running a number of focus groups in the software industry. Given the format for "the Mojave experiment" and a few hundred thousand dollars the same result could have been obtained with XP, OSX or Ubuntu (sans the production of the commercials, of course)

Mohave was cooked up by Microsoft's marketing department, and (some) participants are on record as being up-happy with how they were portrayed in the commercials. But, whatever... The fact that this is coming from a marketing department should be your first indication that it is mostly bullshit, just as the Apple ads are mostly bullshit, just as, well, most ads are mostly bullshit. The only exception are political ads which are complete bullshit.

I use both Windows and Mac, and I pay zero attention to the marketing. Only a complete idiot would purchase something, or vote for someone, based on marketing. Oh, wait...

[Alex @ Sep 17th 2008 10:30PM]

@CraigJ

I wholeheartedly agree that the Mojave "experiment" was/is a joke. It was nothing that could be used as hard evidence that Vista is good or bad, and I tried to point that out in my original post. I said that, "although the results themselves aren't entirely reliable - Who couldn't recognize Vista?!" with regards the the Mojave Experiment. I should have explained more in that, but I didn't want to ramble on for too long in one post :P

I just think that since Microsoft is pushing commercials for their Mojave experiment, it just seems wise to use that as an argument in any spoof ads. Regardless of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the experiment, Microsoft needs to come up with some reasons why Apple has been wrong about them. Without some serious ways of saying that Vista has qualities x and y that will make your life better or easier, their commercial campaign will remain largely ineffective.

[Quix @ Sep 17th 2008 11:06PM]

Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (TM)

[maveric101 @ Sep 17th 2008 11:16PM]

even though Mojave wasn't really a legitimate experiment, i think it's point still has some merit. i bet people as a whole would be warmer toward vista if it didn't still have the stigma from when it was released.

[Jon Doe. @ Sep 17th 2008 11:23PM]

Not with Apple and Apple fanbois guerrilla tactics, and outright bullshit. Remember marketing and fanboism is about 70% bullshit, 20% truth, and 10% "tweaked" statistics.

[d00b @ Sep 17th 2008 11:26PM]

One thing is becoming more clear: This isn't about improving the image of Vista any more. It's going to be boosting the Windows brand, and more specifically, Windows 7, which is shaping up to be Vista Second Edition.

Vista's problems are myriad, and can't be blamed (or remediated) by image marketing alone. Aside from initial flaky driver support (the only issue MS has acknowledged), it is also resource-heavy--designed for ever more powerful desktop hardware, not for mobile devices where power consumption is the most important factor. It's not because of poor drivers that the current netbooks are using XP, or that you have to turn off Aero to save on laptop battery life. Simply put, Vista is not scalable downward.

I think MS recognizes this, and Win7 will be a slimmed down and more modular Vista. All the noises MS has been making about a moved-up Win7 launch (in 2009 now, instead of 2010) means that the Vista name is damaged goods, and will be shelved for a "new and improved" Windows. It's easier to shape perception on a new product than to change negative perception on an existing product, especially one that is commonly known. This marketing campaign is said to be a multi-year effort, and while some general boosting will be done for Vista, I think the heavy hitting will be for the upcoming version.

[hazard @ Sep 18th 2008 12:12AM]

I just hope this doesn't haven't a negative impact of the cake computer project.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 18th 2008 2:35AM]

D00B is right on this one. M$ should have spent the $300 million on MAKING GREAT SOFTWARE instead of BS marketing!

[Doug @ Sep 18th 2008 2:50AM]

I'm just glad they got the High and Highest Ranking system back here on Engadget! :-)

[kL @ Sep 18th 2008 7:15AM]

and Macs DO NOT MEAN Mac OS X! They can run Linux and Windows too. And they're Personal Computers too.

...but nitpicking about this is pointless. Everybody knows what's the intent behind "PC" and "Mac" lablels.

[ZeroCorpse @ Sep 18th 2008 12:03PM]

So, I hate to say it, but it has to be said (as if it won't/hasn't yet) -

Leave it to Windows to rip off a Mac commercial to advertise their own product. Seriously. They borrow everything from other operating systems, don't they?

All an ad like this would say to me, as a consumer, is "Hey! We're Windows! We don't have any ideas of our own."

[cypher @ Sep 18th 2008 2:29PM]

Think MS made a huge marketing mistake. I like the Gates/Seinfeld ads, they're entertaining. I hate the other ads ... they're just stupid (like most ads). And to try to improve the image of the dumpy fat PC guy, why don't they just come up with an OS that works and keep the future vision hopeful by using Seinfeld and Gates. VISTA is the reason I won't buy a new PC. If anything, MS has pushed me to seriously consider a Mac.

[jupiterthunder @ Sep 18th 2008 3:38PM]

@hazard

The word on the the 'tubes is that MS has elected go with a pizza box instead of cake. But it was a bit unclear. The pizza box might be a netbook.

[cOLDphART @ Sep 18th 2008 6:25PM]

If “ Mac” is all that great then why do they need to run windows?

[Rand @ Sep 17th 2008 9:11PM]

2nd phase = Plan B. (When Plan A tanks)

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 17th 2008 9:57PM]

From the article:

"..Beginning on Thursday night, visitors to windows.com will be able to upload video clips and photographs demonstrating how they, too, are PCs. Some photos will be chosen to appear on electronic signs in Times Square from Friday through Oct. 13 and others will be chosen for use in Microsoft banner ads.."

I have been waiting for such moment for the whole past year. God help you Apple; I'm going to chew you with some "real" facts that will rip your heart off.

Get ready people.

[Andir3.0 @ Sep 17th 2008 10:28PM]

"Saad Rabia": Sad. I sure hope you get paid by MS, because that's rather... Lonely. Depressing.

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 17th 2008 10:32PM]

"has abruptly been abandoned in favor of these new spots"

advertising doesn't quite work that fast. There are usually at least a minimum of a few weeks of conception/presentation before the suits sign off on something as big as this. The ads only hit the mainstream just a few days ago (edited and more confusing than the full versions). This is definitely part of a wide ranging campaign to restore the image of MS.

[CosterMonger @ Sep 18th 2008 11:23AM]

@Andir3.0

I keep hoping the exact same thing.

[Zak @ Sep 18th 2008 12:06PM]

Saad, you are a hopeless Microsoft flunkie. Keep drinking that kool aid. This new direction in Microsoft ads shows two things:

1. Microsoft has now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is not an original thought in the entire company. Now they're copying Apple's advertising, in addition to copying their OS and everything else? Wow.

2. Microsoft apparently feels threatened by a company with 7% market share. Responding to Apple directly was a bad move, because it concedes defeat in terms of how the company is perceived. Everybody knows you don't attack the guys below you if you're on top, which is why Apple's iPod ads don't attack the Zune, for example. By responding to Apple's advertising campaign directly, Microsoft is admitting that they think Apple is going to beat them. They feel a need to defend themselves, which is out of character for a company with 90% market share.

It's very telling, and it was a bad move on Microsoft's part. They should have spent the ad money on making ads that show how good Vista is, not on showing how wrong Apple is. That's just handing Apple the advantage.

[geoffsy328 @ Sep 17th 2008 9:14PM]

It was always our plan to trail at the half, thus deepening Earth's eventual humiliation

[J L @ Sep 17th 2008 10:51PM]

You'll recall that the Globetrotters won that game...

:-)

[Isaac @ Sep 17th 2008 9:13PM]

I really liked the Gates and Seinfeld commercials. Especially the second one. A lot of people were excepting a mac add parody (what Microsoft is doing now) so were disappointed but I enjoyed them doing something else.

[decapitor @ Sep 17th 2008 9:15PM]

word up

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 17th 2008 9:19PM]

Yeah, Engadget is way off base here. Just because 80% of the readers here are aggressive teenage Mac kids doesn't mean that their responses to the ads represents the majority of popular opinion. I was playing cards with 9 or 10 people the other night, and everyone had seen the Gates/Seinfeld ad. Only one person thought they sucked, and he's an idiot anyway.

So, "ill-received" my ass.

[JohnTitor @ Sep 17th 2008 9:21PM]

that stuff was great, I was looking forward to episode 3
I don't care if it doesn't make sense, neither do the apple ads

[Jeremy K. @ Sep 17th 2008 9:25PM]

Couldn't have said it better. Well, maybe ad instead of add. ;)

[Nick J @ Sep 17th 2008 9:33PM]

expecting

....maybe you have dyslexia? sorry. :-(