Microsoft dumps Seinfield ads; Attacks Mac commericals

I remember reading the press release heralding the inclusion of Seinfeld as part of Microsoft's new Vista marketing campaign. I also remember the first time seeing the commercial "Shoe Circus", a commercial that was rather unexpectedly long (or at least it felt long). For those of us who saw this initial attempt at humor, we all shared the same feeling of confusion at it's end.

What happened?

Almost two years ago, Vista was released to manufacturers to be included on OEM machines. Ever since the public got their hands on Vista, Microsoft has been fighting Vista's bad reputation for device and software support. One of Microsoft's methods to sell Vista has been to create an ad campaign where users with no Vista experience are led to believe that they are being shown a new operating system, Windows Mojave. The ads detail users giving positive responses to "Mojave". However, these users were not actually using the systems, but observing a salesman demonstrate features. Additionally, no installs were done in the users' presence, nor was any new hardware (printers etc) introduced to the system. These ads generally failed, in my opinion, on these grounds. Not only that, but to add the tagline "We deceive our users" to your company's reputation doesn't sound very wise in a business sense.

While these Mojave experiment ads are still shown, they at least had some intention to market Vista. When "Shoe Circus" aired, Vista wasn't even mentioned. Instead, we were given a scene where Seinfeld and Bill Gates played around in a shoe store inside a crowded mall for a minute and thirty seconds. The only part I found even marginally funny was a mention of wearing shoes into the shower. If it weren't for the short ten second windows logo appearance at the end of the commercial, I wouldn't have even associated it with Microsoft.

Follow up "Shoe Circus" with "New Family", where Gates and Seinfeld invade a family's home and stay for a bit. Once again, the viewer is left confused with no mention of Vista, and only another appearance of the Windows logo. Jerry Holkins (Better known for his character Tycho Brahe on the penny-arcade.com web comic) commented that he believes the commercials are intended to "Get people talking" about Microsoft. At the same time, penny-arcade released a comic parodying the commercials here.

After the heat Microsoft has taken from Apple's hard hitting Mac ads, it's understandable that they would seek to improve their image. Perhaps with their new ad, one that begins with an average user commenting "I'm a PC, and I've become a stereotype.", Microsoft can begin claiming lost ground. Bill gates responded to the Mac ads, stating "And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it's superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?" (Source Engadget). With Microsoft stock on the steady rise, their new commercials may well signal a massive recovery effort from a potentially reborn company.