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Seinfeld-Windows TV Ad Anything But 'Delicious'
CWmike writes "Microsoft's $300-million ad campaign for Windows starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld launched Thursday with a long TV commercial almost entirely devoid of any talk of Windows, Microsoft or anything, really. With co-star Bill Gates, the scene is set in a shopping mall. Seinfeld, who did most of the talking, helps Gates buy a pair of shoes called the Conquistador. The commercial ends with Seinfeld asking Gates if Microsoft will "come out with something that makes our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working." Gates wiggles his rear to answer in the affirmative. The commercial ends (see video inside the story) with the Windows logo and the phrase 'Delicious.' Preston Gralla writes, 'I just saw Microsoft's much ballyhooed Jerry Seinfeld ad, and can say without equivocation it's one of the worst, most pointless ads in history. If this is Microsoft's response to the 'I'm a Mac' ads, it should fold up its tent and tell the world to switch to Apple."
Seinfeld-Windows TV Ad Anything But 'Delicious'
Are you crazy? I found that ad effective & informative.
... starring a Microsoft shill & a racist.
I can't wait to get down to my local shoe store to try out a pair of "The Conquistador" although everyone knows they 'run tight.' I can't wait to finally have shoes I can wear in my shower!
Well, there goes my ability to watch any reruns of Seinfeld
I caught this ad on TV with my non-technical retail employed roommate. And, acknowledging my predisposition to the big evil, I turned and atonally inquired what he thought of the commercial. "What?" he replied, "I don't think when I watch commercials, I just watch them." My god, it's worse than I thought, normal people just might digest this!
My work here is dung.
... that it was kind of hilarious in a post-modern "we're Microsoft, what the fuck are we gonna do?" sort of way.
Clearly the OP does not really understand what advertising is usually about. Most mass market advertising does not try to provide information, it is providing associations. It presents something enjoyable (here it is assumed that Seinfeld+Gates==Enjoyable) and then presents the branding that they want to be associated with that enjoyable feeling. The crazy part is that this works, and in a weird way can be suggested as actually improving the product. Since the next time the subject of the advertising uses/sees the product, they will subconsiously access that association with enjoyment ... therefore the product is more enjoyable as a result of the advertising.
I am not saying that this is a good thing, but it is how things work in the real world.
Now you can argue either way as to whether Seinfeld+Gates=Delicious ... I didn't actually watch the comercial myself ... but they might be reaching as far a transitive association all the way back to the Seinfeld show, which almost everyone agrees was enjoyable. In any case I don't think there was ever any intent to have actual informative content in the comercial ... they are just "building the brand".
See Seth Godin's book "All Marketers Are Liars"
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/all_marketers_are_liars/
or a quick review of it here:
http://www.businesspundit.com/lying-marketing-and-perception/
Thoughts on tech, Software Engineering, and stuff
I did find it humorous that they used his mug shot for his photo on his membership(?) card for the shoe store.
I
If I didn't know that it was Bill gates I would have had just about no idea what that commercial was about. It was pretty stupid and pointless in my opinion.
Thank god I can finally scratch that off my list of things to see before I die.
Careful What You Wish For....
Slashdot ... you win first prize. You just fell for, and greatly aided, Microsoft's viral marketing campaign.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=seinfeld%20windows&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#
I'm... I don't know... um... WHAT THE FUCK? Intelligent response in maybe 15 minutes when I've recovered.
It's got everyone even remotely connected to technology talking about Microsoft.
I now want a delicious churro. Clearly they're coming out with Microsoft Churros. It's a logical step up from the X-Box... who doesn't snack while they play?
What? That wasn't the point of the ad? I can't imagine what else it would be.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
A large table dominates the room. Sleek metal chairs are located around the table, all of which sits on a raised platform above a large pool full of sharks. Various nervous looking henchmen sit in the chairs, watching their beloved leader. A squeaking whiny voice speaks:
Bill Gates (for it is he): Now, I've been thinking about our advertising, how we get the message out that Vista is the best operating system ever written, and I was watching TV last night.
Steve Ballmer: Oh, excellent my master! Excellent!
Steve chortles uncontrollably
Bill Gates: Shut up number 2. Now, I noticed two things. First of all, there is a hilarious comedian on the television called Jerry Seinfeld.
Various flunkies nod.
Number 8: Oh yes, he's very funny
Number 9: I agree my master. We were all talking about his hilarious show around our water cooler earlier today.
Number 5: Indeed. In my department, I couldn't get to the water cooler because of the number of people talking about his show. It is the funniest show on television. You are so right number one, you are...
Bill Gates sighs
Gates: Silence! Now, the other thing I noticed was a theme to many of the advertisements. Let me show you.
The table turns around, with the chairs parting to form a straight line parallel to and facing a giant unfolding screen. The lights dim, and an image appears on screen.
McCain: I'm John McCain, and I approve this message. Barack Obama says he's for the common man. But he's actually just a typical liberal elitist.
Obama: Poor people suck. I'm a big dofus. Look at me with my big car and fancy house.
McCain: Do you really want this person becoming President, or would you rather that a real American be in the White House?
The screen changes to show a new ad. This time the word "Hope" appears in big letters on the screen.
Obama: I know what it's like to be at the bottom. I grew up in a family so poor we used to have to live in a paper bag. Every morning, we used to have to get up before we went to bed, lick road clean, and every night our parents would beat us, bury us, and dance on our graves. But my opponent John McCain was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, listen to his real world experience:
McCain: Look at me, I'm an old person who doesn't even know how to use an Interweb. I have sixteen houses because I keep forgetting where they all are and so have to keep buying new ones to live in.
Obama: Do you really think that guy can relate to us? Do you really want him to become President? Vote for me, change you can believe in. I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.
The lights come back on and the table and chairs go back into position.
Gates: You see, I'm noticing a common theme. What the common people want is to know their leaders aren't elitist, whatever that means.
Number 17: Er, Mr Gates. I don't want to talk out of turn, but those are election ads, they're not trying to sell computer operating systems.
There is a deathly hush. Gates motions to Balmer:
Gates: Number 2...
Balmer picks up a chair. Number 17 gets up and starts to back away.
Number 17: Please! I meant no disrespect! I was just trying to help! No! Please!
Balmer coldly follows 17 and carefully aims the chair. Finally, with a single thrust of the arms, the chair is thrown. All four legblades hit 17 together. He staggers backwards, bleeding profusely, and falls off of the platform into the shark tank, screaming as he goes.
Gates: As I was saying. The people want to know that their leaders are not elitists, that we can relate to the comm
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
I want my damn minute back!
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
It's an "Ad about Nothing"!
Aren't Macs personal computers too?
Aren't Macs using the same x86 architecture as PCs?
What's the difference between a Mac and PC besides the operating system?
The ad was a complete success. Can you believe that, after reading about it on Google News, I actually sought out and watched the commercial? Can you believe that right this very moment you are reading some unimportant commentary by someone whose opinion doesn't matter whatsoever about a TV commercial?
Score one for Microsoft.
Better known as 318230.
It wasn't like the first "I'm a Mac" was funny or anything... That was M$'s first one. Let's see a few more before we label the whole thing a bomb.
And please don't tell my friends I said anything that sounded like a defense of M$... I have a reputation to uphold!
A clever person solves a problem, A wise person avoids it. -Einstein
I thought that Seinfeld was acting like he just smoked a whole bag full of weed and Gates was just annoyed with him.
These adds are just suppose to make people think that Microsoft knows the average Joe, that they are a approachable friendly company. Kinda like how Exon Mobile has those commercials to show their R&D in alternative energy aka "not placing all your eggs in one basket" The goal isn't to switch Mac or Linux people to Windows but keep Windows people on Windows. Most likely Seinfeld (a 1990s star during Microsoft PR heyday period, where they were considered to be the most innovative products out there, by many people) help bring back the feeling of the 1990's where running Windows was considered the cool thing to do, and running Mac or Unix was just prolonging the death of an obsolete platform, and Linux was just a Fad OS that will go away once Windows 95 is released.
It is kinda like see how good things use to be when Microsoft was your favorite OS.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
MS need not fold it's tent, they hold a market share that almost any company in any other industry would kill for... and while the ad may be crappy, so what? They really don't even need to advertise, people know who they are anyway and will likely keep buying MS for the forseable future. Like them or not, their brand recognition is huge.
we're not laughing with you; we're laughing at you.
Delicious, butt-wagging, Seinfeld, cheap shoe stores being abhorrent, poking fun at Mexicans...what do all these things have in common?
Look at your common PHB. Likes "delicious food" as opposed to what the Mac guy eats, probably raw food or wheat grass or something. Thinks butt-wagging and slapstick are funny. Probably laughs at Seinfeld re-runs. Is glad he doesn't shop at the cheap shoe store for athletic shoes, but probably gets his dress shoes there, because who can tell. Has Mexican neighbors, is uncomfortable knowing he's in the same class they are.
This ad is brilliantly tarteted as a sort of subconscious reminder that PHB doesn't have to be a Mac guy, darnit, and he's good enough. Microsoft is here to shove more Applebees cake down his throat.
What's the message? "Vista is hard, let's go shopping!"
I toldja, they shoulda gone with a tried and tested comedic genius. http://tinyurl.com/5c3r6y
http://rocknerd.co.uk
Comment removed based on user account deletion
if it wasn't for the Windows logo at the end I wouldn't have known what product it was "selling"
It's not selling a product, yet. It's a hook you're supposed to think "moist, w-t-flip??". That then gives them space in your brain, you're slightly confused as you expect MS to tout their technology, spout off with some of the usual FUD, but no - they haven't even tried to sell you anything ... yet. Now you anticipate round 2, your curious ... curiosity is a killer, it's also a very good marketing tool: if you're in a room with 2 doors and one says "danger to life, do not enter" you couldn't care less what's behind the other one you just want to open the dangerous one!
IMO it's a good advert, we just have to see if the marketeers can make good of that advantage.
I will have you know that TV programming in Japan is quite different than anything you will find in the US, since I think that they give all the people who come up with the shows drugs for inspiration.
I was going to say they do that with US TV too. Except in that case the drug is cocaine and the only thing it inspires is crap TV as a means to get more money to get more cocaine...
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Did anyone catch that his photo on the membership card was his old Arizona mugshot photo (arrested for speeding, IIRC).
That part did make me laugh.
I'm a 2000 man.
I, too, was throughly unimpressed by the ad, but there is one thing they didn't do: Play Apple's mud slinging game.
I enjoy the "I'm a mac" ads -- they're just about the only commercials I'll intentionally watch -- but they're pretty aggressive. They blatantly, and actively attempt to belittle their competition. The latest two show "PC" resting on his laurels, and trying to deceive people into purchasing him -- both suggesting that "PC" doesn't have his users' best interests at heart.
This commercial doesn't do that at all. Some have speculated that was the goal: making it clear that they feel that they don't have to insult their competition. Whether they're just trying to win points for being the nice guy, or they're trying to suggest that they don't have to stoop to Apple's level because they're just that superior, I don't know.
. . . will show a black screen with the following phrase:
The cake is a lie.
Yep - a boring, middle of the road public figure shilling for a boring, middle of the road, operating system. It's an OS about - nothing!
I'm much more interested in seeing what OS Larry David or Frank Costanza would shill for.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
...anti-dentite.
"Have you heard of some type of thing?" -- anon
Oromyofunctional disorder, aka, Tongue Thrust. I like "tooth-talker" better, because if you are a tooth-talker, you have a hell of a time saying tooth-talker, which really brings out the tooth-talker in you.
Remember those old BASF commercials? Kinda reminds me of those, where at the end I'm left wondering just what it is I'm supposed to buy. Shoes? Chips? Hula lessons?
If I didn't have absolutely NOTHING to do, I wouldn't be here.
He was Bruce Campbell's literary agent. All else is epilogue.
Now go shred your cool card application — you have been pre-denied.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
The ad was about the PC users being able to go out and you can get have your cake and eat it too. Granted, they think Windows gives you that but as you really know, GNU and Linux get you that in spades. It's all about choice and what YOU want.
Sorry Bill, Jerry, that ad just didn't work IMO.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
First, I think what a lot of people have missed here is something basic: The market. Microsoft is not selling their product to the same people that Apple is selling to. Microsoft has to please a lot more middle-aged corporate types, and a lot of common types. Even the place this ad premiered reflects that - NFL football game. Not the Oscars, MTV Music awards, American Idol - NFL football game. Domain of white guys.
Second, the point of the ad is not to advertise the product. Microsoft and their ad agency have probably done quite a bit of research and realized that the brand perception of Microsoft is mostly large, faceless, corporate machine. Insert 'evil' in there, if you'd like. The point of the ad is to put a human face on the company. "Oh look, Microsoft's founder has to buy shoes just like me!" Jerry's contribution is to be annoyingly quirky, which allows Bill to be tolerant and 'humor' Jerry. The whole ad is Bill playing along even though you suspect he thinks Jerry is quite odd (also making Bill look not-so-odd by comparison.)
The ad is effective for what Microsoft is trying to accomplish with it. Hell, even proving Bill isn't ACTUALLY equipped with a Borg eye is worth a few million.
paintball
They GOT the white football fan. You do NOT suck up to your existing customers, you just give them good deals but not fancy smancy ads because they are already buying your product.
You aim a new commercial campaign setup to change the opinion of a product with the group who needs its opinion changed. That is the mac-whores, the linux-nerds and the XP-lusers. The middle age white guy who uses Vista because that is what came with his dell doesn't need to be convinced to buy Vista.
No, I think this case is far simpler. Advertising companies don't sell products, they sell ads. This advertisement company sold itself to Microsoft and this ad was just the by-product of it. It has no more aim then to get money out of MS and if that is done by convincing Bill Gates that he should shake his ass to the camera with an tv-star who hasn't starred in years, then so be it.
This ad has an audience of one and its name is Gates.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.