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Farewell, Jerry, we barely knew ye


It's an open question whether TUAW readers really care about the inside-baseball, schadenfreude-laden story of an expensive ad campaign for another technology company that left many in the audience scratching their heads, wondering "are these ads about nothing?" Most of you probably took passing note of the commercials and moved on to your game of Spore.

Nevertheless, the word tonight via Valleywag and Engadget, among other sources, that Microsoft will be dumping Jerry Seinfeld from its upcoming TV spots (and bringing in a John Hodgman look-alike to directly target Apple's "I'm a Mac" campaign) is making us think. Why lose the Sein? He brought a slightly cranky, slightly spacey vibe -- not a bad matchup for Bill Gates, when you come down to it. There must have been more to it than simply "people didn't like the ads..."

What's the deal with Jerry getting the shaft?
Last straw: got a Junior Mint stuck on Bill's furniture139 (4.8%)
Guy known for being Superman's pal just made Brainiac really uncomfortable82 (2.8%)
"Uh, Jerry, about the Macs on the set for every show..."1060 (36.4%)
Turns out, Seinfeld NOT "Master of His Active Directory Domain"282 (9.7%)
It's not you, it's me.531 (18.2%)
No Soup.NET 2.0 Professional Edition for you!243 (8.3%)
Selling operating systems is easy. Comedy is hard.576 (19.8%)


It's an open question whether TUAW readers really care about the inside-baseball, schadenfreude-laden story of an expensive ad campaign for...
 

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Geoff

When I think Seinfeld,I think of the old Mac he ALWAYS had in his apartment, somehow having a Mac was more trendy than having the clunky PC equivalent at the time (ie ugly box, many cables) . . . perhaps he isn't the right person to persuade me to buy PC's!! . . anyway I've finally ditched PC's with all the bloatware and security patch after security patch, and loving the Mac experience . . I now have 3 . . iMac, MacMini, MacBook. . .one h/w, o/s, s/w support contract, one number to fix any problem, I just haven't needed to call them yet!!!. . maybe I was still thinking 'PC' when I bought the support!

September 21 2008 at 10:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
zman

they get one thing right then they TAKE IT AWAY!!!


They'll regret this

September 18 2008 at 5:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ChrisM70

Nothing says FAIL more than starting a new ad campaign and abandoning it at the first sign of trouble. Perhaps Microsoft should try to actually STAND FOR SOMETHING. Create a focus and a message and then push that message in their commercials.

Instead, Microsoft chases trends and runs commercials out of fear. Ending the Seinfeld commercials shows that Microsoft doesn't have anyone in charge who knows what they are doing and makes them look indecisive and foolish.

If Microsoft can't control the quality of their commercial message, how can they control the quality of their products?

September 18 2008 at 11:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andy S.

Seinfeld was probably the only thing about those ads that was even remotely entertaining. Bill Gates has the personality of a block of tofu, and can't deliver even a solidly-written line to save his ass (which, coincidentally, is kind of the point of these commercials, eh?)

As many have pointed out, bringing in a John Hodgman lookalike is just going to fuel the "MS copies Apple!" fire, and on top of that, the odds of MS finding a Hodgman lookalike that is actually *as funny as* John Hodgman are infinitesimally small.

You know, I think I'd feel a lot better about buying a Microsoft product if I knew that they were spending their money on R&D, and not dumping $300m into beating a dead horse.

Vista's ship has sailed, Bill, and it turns out that it was the Titanic. Oops. Accept it, move on, and build a better ship.

September 18 2008 at 10:09 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Zimzim

These ads, if they'd been allowed to run, could and should have been among the most anticpated new episodes in TV history - instead MS have caved in to some focus group report rather than stand by the courage of their convictions and see it through.

The last time TV had a series "about nothing" it gradually grew to become a nine season blockbuster, possibly one of the largest shows of all time.

Good luck with the stupid Apple parody.

September 18 2008 at 5:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Zimzim's comment
basscadet

amen to that.

I was never crazy about Seinfeld but these ads are something that creates a buzz and would make a better image of MS, would they let them go through. The ad isn't about Vista, it's about MS and it's trying to create the impression that MS can be a part of everyday living.

Oh and for the 1000th time, MS is not a "direct competitor" of Apple. Some sectors align but MS's lack of computer hardware products is a key element in what I'd consider as a "direct competitor". It's easier to oversimplify and generalize but things are a lot more complicated.

September 18 2008 at 11:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael Rose

well, MS does sell hardware products -- keyboards, mice, webcams -- but your point is taken. In the OS space, however, for both mindshare and customers, they do compete.

September 18 2008 at 11:21 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bento-san

I find it hilarious that microsoft can't do any better than to copy apple with their newest ads. copy apple. copy apple. that's all they've ever done. and funnier still, those "i'm a PC" ads they're doing were made on a mac. ask anyone who's ever worked at crispin porter, it's an all-mac office.

September 18 2008 at 4:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nanodalek

Focus groups said that the commercials were more pretentious than the Apple ads. It is all very symbolic of the general Windows experience; hokey, confusing and convoluted.

September 18 2008 at 2:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
frank

well, them saying "this was our plan from the beginning" is pure advertising-speak. it's the equivalent of saying "i *meant* to do that" when wiping out on your bike in front of the other kids.

September 18 2008 at 12:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kinto

honestly, as much as i disdain microsloth i really liked the ads... (that being said i've seen every seinfeld episode about a gazillion times, so maybe that's why...)

but seriously, i dug 'em to the point that i was worried they might actually be serving their purpose and making ms appear warm and fuzzy... unsurprisingly they failed as usual ;)

and new ads copying apple? wow, edge of my seat...
*yawn*

September 18 2008 at 12:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Small Business Entrepreneur

These commercials were bad...so bad I devoted an entire blog post to them as a case study in what not to do when advertising your product/service/company!

Matt
http://smallbizbee.com

September 17 2008 at 11:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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