New Seinfeld Ad Draws Negative Reviews Online

[Brian Damage]

NEW YORK (AP) - No soup for Microsoft? The software giant's new ad starring Jerry Seinfeld has drawn largely negative reviews online after premiering Thursday night during NBC's broadcast of the National Football League's season kickoff game.

The ad was the start of a highly anticipated $300 million advertising campaign that Microsoft is launching in attempt to rebuff Apple's popular TV commercials, which have portrayed Microsoft and PCs as uncool.

In the commercial — which can be found at Microsoft.com and on video sharing sites — Seinfeld is walking through a mall when he spots Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates at a "Shoe Circus" store. The comedian then helps Gates pick out a new pair of shoes while the jokes come quick: showering with clothes on, Gates being a "10," platinum credit cards for a fictional shoe store.

It's a zany ad that packs a lot of quirkiness into 90 seconds. With no direct mention of Microsoft or its operating system, Vista, the commercial concludes with the slogan: "The future, delicious."

The ad was created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky — a firm with a reputation for oddness. Many technology and advertising blogs have turned to Seinfeld's trademark comedy description — "nothing" — to describe the ad.

"Huh?" wrote Abbey Klaassen for Ad Age. "You could be forgiven for not knowing what the heck Microsoft's new TV ad ... was about."

Dan Frommer, writing for the Silicon Alley Insider, pronounced the ad "not funny" and added that the mall shoe store setting "is not going to help Microsoft look any cooler."

For the blog Techcrunch.com, Michael Arrington noted that the "tech and geek crowd is a little underwhelmed" by the ad, which he said is "a far cry from the brilliant Microsoft v. Mac ads."

Brad Brooks, vice president of Windows consumer product marketing, said in a video posted on the Windows press Web site, that the ad is a "teaser" meant to "engage customers in a conversation ... to get the conversation going again about what Windows means in people's everyday lives."

Even if the reaction was mostly negative, Microsoft's ad has clearly succeeded in getting people talking.

[Schmoopie]

Oh my God! I couldn't even believe the topic when I read it, but to say that the commercial isn't funny? I about died when I saw Bill Gates pull out that "club card" thing with an old picture of him on it!

I agree that it was strange that nothing was mentioned about Microsoft or Apple, but I thought it was hilarious!


Andrea

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Oh my God! I couldn't even believe the topic when I read it, but to say that the commercial isn't funny? I about died when I saw Bill Gates pull out that "club card" thing with an old picture of him on it!

I agree that it was strange that nothing was mentioned about Microsoft or Apple, but I thought it was hilarious!


Andrea

I agree with you Andrea, I found the ad very funny. I guess it just went over some people's heads. *shrugs*

[robyrob]

well, I don't think the ad makes Bill look "hip" or "with it", and it certainly doesn't make me want to spend $200 for a copy of Vista, but I now have a strange craving for churros and my feet hurt.

[TJL]

I don't know what the blogosphere was expecting, but I like the commercial.

Some of the best commercials ever made were "about nothing."

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by TJL

Some of the best commercials ever made were "about nothing."

And the best shows!

[Janice]

I think the ad is a riot. When Gates adjusted his underwear outside, I was LMAO.

[TV DVD Fan]

I was surprised the first time I saw it. I'd never seen Seinfeld in a commercial before--- not to mention Gates. It was pretty funny though, especially a young geeky-looking Bill Gates.

[Schmoopie]

Since Bill Gates lives in Seattle I first thought (naievely) that the ad could have been filmed here, and I was like "You mean Jerry Seinfeld was HERE?!"

But then I came back to reality... sigh...

Andrea

[Schmoopie]

Seinfeld-Gates ad debuts, and it's no showstopper

Microsoft's much-anticipated advertising campaign, expected to be a counter to withering Apple attacks on its most important product, debuted...

By Benjamin J. Romano

Seattle Times technology reporter

Microsoft's much-anticipated advertising campaign, expected to be a counter to withering Apple attacks on its most important product, debuted on network television Thursday night.

The 90-second spot, featuring Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a shoe store, was, in the assessment of more generous viewers, humanizing. Others weren't so kind.

"It really came off as old and unfunny, not hip and cool, and it didn't really engage people in any way, especially not the crowd that they're trying to take back from Apple," said Adam Cagle, partner and managing director of 689 Design, a Long Beach, Calif., ad agency, who saw it during the National Football League's season opener.

The ad is the first salvo of a broader Windows-focused campaign by hotshot Miami agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Microsoft is reportedly spending $300 million on the effort to reintroduce the Windows brand, tarnished by Apple's acclaimed and effective "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign.

Apple, which sells integrated hardware and software, has seen recent sales grow faster than the Windows PC industry, which is dramatically larger and has many players, complicating the branding task for Microsoft and Crispin.

"It's always been a Catch-22 for the company," Cagle said.

Like Seinfeld's eponymous sitcom, the initial ad was, in many ways, about nothing. But it is the first in a series, so it could be setting the stage for a longer narrative.

Seinfeld encounters Gates in a discount shoe store, Circus Shoes, in a mall. They engage in some idle banter:

Seinfeld: "Ever wear clothes in the shower, Bill?"

Gates: "Never."

Seinfeld: "You're dressed and you're clean. Open the door, go about your business."

The scene is chuckle-worthy and positions Gates — Microsoft personified to many people — as a sort of regular guy out looking for a deal on shoes.

advertising

It showcases Gates' dry wit and sense of humor, which he displayed in a video earlier this year lampooning his last day as a full-time Microsoft employee.

"On the plus side, it's lighthearted and vague, which is nice for MS," Mike Doherty, president of Seattle ad firm Cole & Weber United, said via e-mail. "As much as an ad can, it gives Microsoft a very different and more human tone ... I guess."

But Doherty and several other observers couldn't see how it played as a counter-strike to the Apple campaign.

"We didn't understand what shoes, the big top and Jerry Seinfeld had to do with Microsoft," he said.

Eventually, the ad turns its focus to Microsoft's products:

Seinfeld: "You know, I imagine over the years you've mind melded your magnum Jupiter brain to those other Saturn ring brains at Microsoft."

Gates: "I have."

Seinfeld: "Just wondering, are they ever going to come out with something that will make our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat 'em while we're working? If it's yes, give me a signal. Adjust your shorts."

Gates gives a little hip shake.

Seinfeld: "Oh, I knew it!"

The ad ends with the words "The Future" and "Delicious" flashed on the screen, followed by a Windows logo.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I agree with you Andrea, I found the ad very funny. I guess it just went over some people's heads. *shrugs*

[TJ]

The ad was funny the first time I saw it, but now that I've seen it about 50 times I'm growing a little tired of it. I think it would have been better if they cut it in shorter segments.

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by robyrob

I now have a strange craving for churros and my feet hurt.

I've seen the commercial three times on TV now and I laugh harder every time. I wish they would make more, though.

Andrea