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Microsoft announcement tomorrow: No more Seinfeld ads!

Time: 00:08 EST/05:08 GMT | News Source: Valleywag | Posted By: Kenneth van Surksum

Remember those awful Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates? Well, now you can forget them. Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about "phase two" of the ad campaign — a phase, due to be announced tomorrow, which will drop the aging comic altogether. Microsoft's version of the story: Redmond had always planned to drop Seinfeld. The awkward reality: The ads only reminded us how out of touch with consumers Microsoft is — and that Bill Gates's company has millions of dollars to waste on hiring a has-been funnyman to keep him company.

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Displaying Comments 1 through 33 of 33

This is an archived static copy of ActiveWin.com.

#1 By 3653 (65.80.181.153) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 04:52:34 AM

I call BS on this being a REACTION and not a plan. But I see Joe Wilcox took the valleywag bait.

#2 By 3 (82.27.219.89) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 05:03:15 AM

If it is the plan who the hell came up with the idea as it was dead in the water to begin with, why drop what you have "started" to go to something completely different. Well at least the story got one thing right, there is a whole load of money to waste on this

#3 By 1896 (68.153.171.248) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 06:12:42 AM

IMO It is clearly a reaction and it is obvious , and I would add the right thing to do, to state that this has always been the plan, I would do the same; it is called "Damage containment".
My issue here is who decided to "burn" the "Bill Gates icon" associating him with an overpaid Seinfield, with nonsense spots, shot and directed by people whose skills were amateurial at best.
A company like Microsoft should have hired the Scott brothers to do it.
As a shareholder I really hope there will be some accountability for this blunder.

#4 By 79018 (74.70.9.133) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 06:46:38 AM

I thought the ads were funny, like "Seinfeld", but a bad choice to promote Vista. On a positive note Vista was never mentioned.
A better choice might have been the creator of "Family Guy" but then they would have needed a parental advisory warning. He probably would have murdered the mac guy.

#5 By 3 (82.27.219.89) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 08:13:16 AM

Thing is why go for the Mac ads - most people dislike those too. Seinfeld was great a long time ago, it ended at the right time and thank god they have ended these ads at the right time too.

#6 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 08:57:08 AM

Microsoft is doing the right thing by changing tack, but they have to put a smiley face on it somehow to avoid admitting it was a failure. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the new Bill Gates/Carrot Top commercials.

#7 By 140154 (221.128.201.121) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 09:09:31 AM

It's not a Vista, so they can certainly acknowledge what they wanted to achieve isn't working and withdraw them in a timely fashion.

#8 By 28801 (65.90.202.10) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 09:27:28 AM

#6: Now that was funny!

#9 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 10:40:48 AM

why is it not clear that the initial ads were designed to set up the campaign - to glaringly show how "PC" is portrayed (inaccurately) followed up by what "PC" actually is - all of the rest of us?

They did it masterfully. It was hilarious and at the same time, very thought provoking. It's much too bad and very sad that the underlying meaning and messages are so badly missed... or were they... they certainly grabbed peoples' attention and now that the contrast is about to be presented in new ads... I think it will be clear... "PC" isn't defined, or shaped by how Apple has narrowly portrayed it... "PC" is us - all of us - no matter who we are, or what we do.

I keep going back to what troubles me... am I mad people missed it, or just sad... what does it suggest about the "Internet age"

This post was edited by lketchum on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 10:43.

#10 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 11:41:28 AM

#10: Too bad you'll never accept the third alternative: there was no underlying meaning and you were reading way too much into it. Go here and read:

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/09/11/what-s-up-with-those-ads.aspx

Your stubborn insistence that you, and only you apparently, see a deeper meaning in the ad and everyone else is dumb for missing it is an insult to everyone else and perhaps a sign of your own arrogance. And, of course, you couldn't possibly entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, you're wrong and everyone else is right? Naw, couldn't be. MS releases an ad to the general tech-illiterate public, and you still claim that there is a much deeper message. So deep, in fact, that you need an electron microscope to read between the atoms for this deep message. It doesn't make any sense from a marketing perspective, but you keep insisting you see significance in every aspect of the ad. Its wishful thinking on your part, and highly indicative of what's going on inside your head that you continue to cling to your original opinion despite all evidence to the contrary.

#11 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 11:50:37 AM

#10, Wow - such powerful insight into the thoughts of another based upon so little - and you call me arrogant and reading too much into it? Amazing. You are one lucky young man. To be so gifted. I'll say this.. watch how the ads playout across the campaign and see if i was wrong about Windows being about all of and for all of us - see if the initial read about that was wrong. (or in any way hard to see).

#12 By 2231 (72.5.151.4) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:06:36 PM

My time is too valuable to have to figure out the message of a commercial. If you don't grab my attention immediately the channel's getting changed or the mute button's getting pressed.

Topless mud wrestling playboy bunnies would be a good start.

#13 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:18:48 PM

#1: I'll say this.. watch how the ads playout across the campaign and see if i was wrong about Windows being about all of and for all of us

Heh, way to move the target. I'm referring to your analysis of the first video, where the shoes meant something, the store meant something, Jerry fitting Bill was a parallel to MS Partners helping make Windows a good fit etc etc. But then you know that and you're just trying to wriggle out of accountability for your own statements.

#12: You must be one of those dumb people ketchum was referring to. Don't worry though; you're in good company with the rest of us.

#14 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:26:07 PM

#13, Horsecrap. The elements were all there and quite easy to see. I cited the main theme as being that Windows is and has been there for all of us for a very long time. Go back and read the remarks.

#12, most true for most commercials, but this is our profession and it is important to our company that the ecosystem is healthy - so it makes a great deal of sense to pay very close attention to ads related to it. Aliging one's own messages in the channel with those successful elements that feed it makes good business sense for companies like my own.
Similarly, this site and its focus appears to be one of the places to share observations opposite the same....

or... is it, as Latch would have it, simply a place to bash Microsoft and execute sharp personal attacks on people like myself without consequence?

Both, I guess.

#15 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:38:08 PM

#14: Oh boo hoo. You play the victim so well. I have been attacked here more often than you could imagine, and yet I manage to stand up for myself without the pity party. You're so obstinate in refusing to finally admit what even MS execs were saying about the ads. If you can't stand behind your opinions, maybe they weren't such great opinions to have in the first place?

I think I've had an epiphany: the ads *did* say exactly what you saw, because MS was targeting you specifically. Of course, it was money wasted as you were already in Gates' back pocket. Now they need to focus the ads on the rest of humanity.

#16 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 01:11:49 PM

#15, You don't seem to stand up for anything and you don't get offended, because you don't seem to care about anything enough to be offended about and that is the problem I have with you. You bash MS and other companies and people and don't offer anything else I can see. So what is your purpose. There has to be one, but it is not reflected here.

#17 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 01:30:29 PM

#16: You bash MS and other companies and people and don't offer anything else I can see.

That's your problem; unless someone or something is fawning over MS, you don't see or understand it.

So what is your purpose. There has to be one, but it is not reflected here.

Squint harder and maybe you'll see some deep meaning visible to no one else but yourself. My purpose is to help expose MS for what they really and to combat the spin of the MS sycophant set. But what of your purpose here? As far as I can tell, it's to buff & polish MS to a lustrous shine with whatever words you need to say to attain that end.

#18 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 04:17:14 PM

#17 your purpose is something of a job for you. There are a lot of differences between you and I - they begin with this: you're (likely) paid to post here, while I pay (a lot) to support this site and sustain it as an information source for all people (regardless of what they say).

#19 By 7754 (206.169.247.2) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 05:25:34 PM

I kind of wonder if folks are expecting the wrong thing from these ads, or advertising in general. Did anyone really expect that a single commercial (or even a set of commercials) would change everything? Even apart from our small and intimately involved community, I'm not sure that's realistic.

Just throwing this out there, but perhaps this parallels the current US race for President (and I'm not trying to push a candidate or start a political war here). Earlier in the year, there was a huge imbalance in coverage of McCain vs. Obama--Obama had by far the lion's share (and the drama of the Dem race certainly made for an interesting story). Short of announcing he fathered a baby with John Edwards, McCain got very little attention from the media (or others, really). Whether Palin is a good candidate on merit or not, picking her as his running mate suddenly swung some of the spotlight McCain's way (or at least on his campaign). Was it a smart or dumb move? Or maybe, whether it was smart or not, it was a necessary move given the situation? Maybe Microsoft is "pulling a Palin" (though perhaps much too late)? Regardless of the merit of the commercials, perhaps the real goal here is simply to take attention away from Apple and put it on themselves? And... maybe that's enough?

What I would like to see are something like the old Intellivision vs. Atari ads. Put 'em both side-by-side and show how much better one actually is than the other. I think it would also be a benefit to the consumer in the end, since they would have as their goal doing something better than the competition rather than simply better than their own previous versions.

#20 By 7754 (206.169.247.2) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 05:32:58 PM

Oh--and bring back George Plimpton while they're at it! And people complain about Seinfeld being a "has-been".... :P (Shoot... I still love watching Seinfeld... what does that make me?) What do people want, anyhow? A "Dude, you're getting a Dell" guy? Perez Hilton? Miley Cyrus? Obama? :P

Personally, I think Ricky Gervais would be stellar.

#21 By 143 (96.28.64.138) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 05:33:22 PM

I liked it.

#22 By 20505 (216.102.144.11) at Thursday, September 18, 2008 06:28:58 PM

I'll bet in fifty years from now you will still be able to find the Gate/Seinfeld ads and that they'll teach about them in schools!

Funny, effective or not these ads are an anthropologists dream.

#23 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at Friday, September 19, 2008 11:22:20 AM

#18: they begin with this: you're (likely) paid to post here, while I pay (a lot) to support this site and sustain it as an information source for all people (regardless of what they say).

I wish I was paid for posting here. My mortgage is about to get a lot bigger and I could use the extra money. Regardless, I do appreciate that you host AW at your expense (a fact I did not know).

Back to the subject at hand, the new ad is too long or at least it feels like it is. I get it with the diversity message, but I don't really need to see 94 people in succession telling me they're a PC. I also find it hard to believe that Hollywood types like Eva Longoria use a PC instead of a Mac.

#24 By 16797 (65.93.149.163) at Friday, September 19, 2008 11:32:55 AM

New ads are here.:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/windows/videoGallery.aspx

This is some really really nice stuff.

This post was edited by gonzo on Friday, September 19, 2008 at 11:33.

#25 By 23275 (68.186.182.236) at Friday, September 19, 2008 11:50:24 AM

"I'm a PC and I sell fish"

Delightful.

All of it. Well done!

#26 By 28801 (65.90.202.10) at Friday, September 19, 2008 12:00:51 PM

"I'm a mac. I cost twice as much as a PC and have half the power!"

#27 By 3653 (65.80.181.153) at Friday, September 19, 2008 04:05:28 PM

"I'm a mac. I cost twice as much as a PC and have half the power... but I come with a free car sticker that will make you feel superior to your fellow man!"

#28 By 10557 (71.185.4.35) at Friday, September 19, 2008 06:37:06 PM

Latch: the current trends in advertising have parallels with Web 2.0 -- notably, socially relate with the audience. An ad campaign is NOT a single commercial rebroadcast for 30 days; it is conveying a message over a period of time.

The message is not always clear in the first commercial (like movie or game trailers) and their objective is not to make money; it is to lay the groundwork. The subsequent commercials, just like video game demos trailers and minute-long movie trailers, start making the objective more and more clear.

This CAMPAIGN is laying down the groundwork; more commercials will be released emphasizing different takes on the same message: Windows is boundless... imagine the possibilities... blah, blah blah.

#29 By 15406 (99.224.104.110) at Friday, September 19, 2008 10:52:08 PM

#28: Thanks, but why are you telling me this? I don't disagree with anything you just said. I think you might be reading this thread out of context to previous threads here about the new ads.

#30 By 3653 (65.80.181.153) at Monday, September 22, 2008 10:00:05 PM

"I think you might be reading this thread out of context to previous threads here "

If he were doing that, he might have simply said "latch is an idiot".

#31 By 146682 (198.190.230.59) at Tuesday, September 23, 2008 03:44:41 PM

I really think that Microsoft should have went blow for blow with Mac's. on Supposed topics they brought UP....

Oooo Blue screen of Death... No Clue at all... Just locks up...
At leaset microsoft is trying to let you know what caused the problem.

Windows OS's... Can be installed on any machine that meet the minimum requrements..
Can u install windows 95 on a new machine, yep, DOS, Yep... .Windows XP, Vista, Yep Yep..
Can u put Vista on a machine from windows me era, yes, if it has enough room....

Mac, Can you run OS 9 on a new machine? Can Ver 8 run on ver 9 machine, 9 on 8? Leopard on Version 9 or earlier boxes? Nope, You had to get a new computer to get a new OS on the mac Platforms.

Yet many people claim Vista is just another OS to make you spend Money? Really? Which Company Made you by a Whole system to get their OS? Which machine is not backward compatable?

There is pratically an infinate number of hardware manufactures out there, and microsoft manages to get it all working together with the hardware that you want? What choces of Mac Hardware are their???

Microsoft manages to get windows working on most combinations of hardware that boggle the mind.... Mac? Well, they only have their own hardware so... Soo much more difficult???

Yes, there are many manufacturers that do NOT have their hardware drivers available at release time ( They could wait forever for them and never release the OS).. but ... Do you blame your car dealership for not having the Rims Needed for a new Tire that has just hit the market???
TO expect microsoft to make the drivers for every other companies hardware would be like expecting the next car you by to be able to any piece of hardware for any car off the shelf...

No worries, mac is here... we only use our hardware, so there should not be any problems right? ( anyone ever eject a audio cd while its playing?)

You have too many buttons on your mouse, and its too complicated?

Really? whats the key combination for Copy and pasting? to use the keyboard to shut down?

how many games are available for the PC? MAC?

Mac's look nicer than the PC... ????

Opps I deleted a System file? What do I do... Mac?

I could go on, but I do believe they could have taken mack really by the "Nuts" and twisted if they put some thought into it.

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