Microsoft To Announce Jerry Seinfeld Ads Cancelled

An anonymous reader writes "Valleywag says the Jerry Seinfeld ads are over — In a phone call, Frank Shaw confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings' spin that the move was planned. There is the 'potential to do other things' with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still 'possible.' He adds: 'People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.'"

Comments

I enjoyed them!

[Solokron]

I for one actually enjoyed those ads! To see those two together in a commercial was uncanny.

Am I missing something?

[MarkKB]

I must be missing something. Cancelled?

Cancelled is what happens when a contract is revoked. As far as I know, Microsoft is continuing with Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

Cancelled is what happens if they were planning to make more of the same vein. I see no indication of that, but of the expectant bloggers.

Microsoft had always said that the Bill & Seinfield ads were not a campaign unto itself, but an icebreaker, or rather, "phase one". Indeed, it would not surprise me if Microsoft's announcement was all about the new ads, and didn't mention Bill & Seinfield at all.

Me thinks Valleywag focused on what they wanted to hear, not what was actually said overall.

Re:Penny Arcade called it

[Daengbo]

That's because the first few seasons were his comedy routine written into skits. Really. If you watched his stand-up before the show aired, nothing in the first season was new at all.

Re:Penny Arcade called it

[Hoi Polloi]

Let me take a guess, you don't like "Jewish" style humor in general, e.g. comedians like (early) Woody Allen, Gary Shandling, and Larry David? Much of the show was based on picking at social awkwardness and standards of behavior. The Office (especially the BBC original) takes it even further with the violation of codes of conduct taken to painful levels. Common themes were people lying and having to then keep that lie alive, obsessive thoughts and behavior, and being caught in petty selfish acts.

I found the acting, especially from Julia Dryfuss, to be great. Her body language was instinctive. George's neuroses were great and his parents were perfect foils for him. Michael Richards could be hit or miss. Sometimes I felt he was overacting but usually he was very good in a slapstick, cartoonish way. Jerry was, of course, the straight man but he also indulged in a well done theme of pretty selfishness.

The writing was also excellent with multiple plot threads all being tried together in clever, unexpected ways at the last second. The show's frequent use of established standup comedians (Sarah Silverman, Brian Posehn, Larry Miller, etc) as character actors was also an excellent move.