Microsoft ditches Family Guy special... for being Family Guy

Face? Meet palm. Microsoft's decided to pull out of its co-sponsoring of "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" after execs attending the taping came to the sudden conclusion that Family Guy-caliber jokes were to be told, tackling such topics as "deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest." We're not sure how 10 years and over 120 episodes of offensive precedence bypassed Redmond's radars, but man, that's gotta be some strong personal bubble. A Microsoft representative said of the taping, "it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand." The show will still air November 8th, pre-recorded Microsoft references in tow, but with a new as-of-yet unnamed sponsor. All we have of the now-doomed partnership is this brief video from the Windows "741" student site -- it's after the break.

[Via The Raw Feed]


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[Timerider Posted Oct 27th 2009 9:31AM]

I'd say it's a very good fit for the Windows brand.

[godlikesme Posted Oct 27th 2009 12:16PM]

This is a perfect example of how out of touch Microsoft is with society. First they make the mistake of using Jerry Seinfeld, a comedian who was considered funny in the 90's to pitch Windows Vista then, trying to be more "hip" they opt for a Family Guy episode to promote Windows 7. I'm actually surprised they didn't use the Flintstone's first.

They really need to get a younger vibe in there.

You can't make the argument that they are this big corporate giant that only sells to businesses and government agencies and therefore can't pull the same shtick that Apple or Google might try because they are responding with ads knocking Apple on pricing and a little Asian girl using Windows. So this would mean that they are trying to compete with Apple and they are not just selling to businesses and government agencies but to consumers as well. If that is the case then perhaps they really need to think of breaking apart the business/government division from the consumer division in a much more radical way. Perhaps taking the sucess of the xbox 360 and the design lessons used in the Zune HD and creating a totally "new" version of Windows for home users that is a real media powerhouse to go head-to-head with Apple. This would also give them the freedom to have more creative freedom with branding without the fear of offending anyone and hurting their overall corporate status.

[mardis Posted Oct 27th 2009 12:38PM]

Loosing MS as a sponsor may not make them any money, but will definitely be the best thing for them. Seriously, who the hell would want to sell out to MS anyway. MS is just bad for PR. Funny part is that FG isn't very politically correct, but is the most honest show. Stop being a bunch of panzy sponsors, face reality, the world's not perfect, so you might as well laugh at it and move on.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 27th 2009 5:06PM]

"Just like the time..." , "Remember that time...." , whew, gets so old sometimes. I've watched and never laughed once. Other times I've laughed and snickered. It's always a toss-up with this show.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 31st 2009 3:25AM]

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[(Unverified) Posted Oct 28th 2009 11:20AM]

Here's a look at a future headline for you: Microsoft to be skewered on an upcoming episode of Family Guy.