"During the NFL season opener on September 4, Microsoft aired the first of the ads that it paid agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky $300 million-plus to create to help make over the company’s image. No mentions or even thinly veiled references to Apple. And there is only an indirect reference to Windows."
I was a huge fan of the Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman. If you haven't seen those hilarious Jerry Seinfeld commercials, they were a little 2-5 minute webisodes that were used to promote American Express. One of the best marketing campaigns on the planet, at least in my opinion, because it actually had me going out and searching high and low for these commercials. Once again Jerry has managed to make lightning strike twice with the first of hopefully many Jerry and Bill dynamic duo commercials. If you have seen some of Bill Gates classic spoof videos of the past, such as Bill Gates' Last Day of Work, you will be happy to know that this new campaign has the same feel. Whether you love Microsoft or hate Microsoft I think it is safe to assume that everyone will love on camera Bill Gates - he is hilarious.
One thing I am grateful for is that these advertisements make a point to not mention Apple and the series of smear advertisements Apple has put out in the past few years. When I first heard about Microsoft's new campaign to combat the Apple advertisements, I just envisioned Microsoft's version of "I'm a Mac," which made me cringe a little inside. I've always felt Microsoft's products were better than that and now releasing something that will make people laugh instead of thinking they eat babies for breakfast will do wonders for their public image while at the same time making Apple look petty and negative for their series of commercials... which when you stop and think about it, if you have to mention your competitors products in your advertisements and bad mouth them the whole time only to sell a tiny fraction of the amount of products they sell, how good is your product, really?
Whether you love Microsoft or hate Microsoft I think it is safe to assume that everyone will love on camera Bill Gates - he is hilarious.
No, that is not a safe assumption.
Mr. Gates is not hilarious, in my opinion. When I see him acting, he makes me feel uncomfortable for him. I think that it was a colossal blunder to throw him into an ad designed to change the image of Microsoft. Really, the solution was to use anyone but Bill Gates, wasn't it? Perhaps the length of this first ad was a factor and we will see how the future ads come across, but this one was chock full of nothing. Self-deprecation, and somewhat witty yet otherwise random statement made by Seinfeld are not good enough.
I wonder if the ad company wanted Bill Gates to do this, or if that was a criterion for their hiring. I guess, on the other hand, it is reassuring to see someone like Rocco who likes Mr. Gates' acting, because this at least gives me the impression that he, as opposed to I, was the target audience.
It is nice commercial, and Sienfeld makes B. Gates look like a person many can relate to,,nerdy, geeky, whatever you call it. I think this ad was targeting kids to some extend. But it is all about what MS will do, the future. No mention of vista or ane other MS product. Does it mean MS has nothing to be proud of now?
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Mr. Gates is not hilarious, in my opinion. When I see him acting, he makes me feel uncomfortable for him. I think that it was a colossal blunder to throw him into an ad designed to change the image of Microsoft. Really, the solution was to use anyone but Bill Gates, wasn't it?...
I thought his awkwardness is what made the video work. As one of my ex-girlfriends use to say, he has that whole "adorable uncomfortable nerdiness to him." Bill being awkward and making fun of himself I fell gives Microsoft a more charming personality. Also, who doesn't love churros?!
I don't think it means Microsoft has nothing to be proud of, I think this is more of a "we understand their is nothing we can do to really change public perception" kind of deal where instead of trying to fix Vista's image, which would be near impossible (even though it really isn't that bas of an OS. I use it daily.), they are playing the whole "ignore the man behind the curtain card" and are attempting to get back on the good graces of the public with happy thoughts and smiles.
This commercial kind of reminds me of the 30 Rock episode where Jenna gained a bunch of weight so she started yelling "Me want food!" in her segments to turn that negative into a positive.
...they are playing the whole "ignore the man behind the curtain card" and are attempting to get back on the good graces of the public with happy thoughts and smiles.
This commercial kind of reminds me of the 30 Rock episode where Jenna gained a bunch of weight so she started yelling "Me want food!" in her segments to turn that negative into a positive.
Except in the 30Rock episode, that was a subplot.
They could have done this so much better, I think. They tried for funny. They end up with quirky.
If this is a response to the Apple ads, heck, Apple makes PC's look cooler.
True. Giving the ad agency the benefit of the doubt, they likely had to spend some time introducing the genre of ad and the premise they wanted to use for the series.
At the same time, they have us talking about them, right? Will it change their image. This ad will not. The rest of the series might be better, right?
The one word that best sums up my reaction to this ad is "pointless." I can't imagine what in the world it was intended to accomplish. As I recall, Seinfeld's show was supposed to be "about nothing," and I guess that pretty well sums up this ad, too. If anything, it made me less eager to buy something from Microsoft, because they wasted two minutes of my time with this drivel. I guess I'm not in their target audience, either...
The Adventures of Jerry and Bill: Shoe Circus
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