Microsoft begins big ad push
Microsoft kicked off its fancy new ad campaign for Windows on Thursday with an ad featuring Bill Gates trying on shoes at a store with Jerry Seinfeld.
The ad, which is also set to be posted on Windows.com, aired during the NFL kickoff game on NBC and will also air on major TV shows starting Thursday night. It's part of an estimated $300 million, multi-year push developed by edgy ad shop Crispin, Porter and Bogusky.
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In the ad, Seinfeld sizes up Gates' shoe size (a 10), asks him whether he's ever tried wearing his clothes in the shower ("never"), and ultimately asks Gates whether Microsoft is ever going to come out "with something moist and chewy like cake." Seinfeld asks Gates to give him a sign, like adjusting his shorts, if the answer is yes. Gates gives a wiggle in the affirmative.
The spot then ends with the Windows logo and the phrase "Delicious." Predictably, the ad has found its way to YouTube.
Although the ads don't directly mention Apple, Microsoft has said that it no longer intends to let its competition position its products.
"We have a huge perception opportunity," Windows business unit head Bill Veghte told CNET News in July. "We are going to try a bunch of stuff."
A screenshot from the new Windows ad, with Jerry Seinfeld sizing up Bill Gates' shoe size.
(Credit: Microsoft)It's a push that began, not with the expensive ads, but rather with the hastily put together "Mojave Experiment," in which Microsoft put Vista in front of Vista skeptics, without telling them it was Vista, to gauge their reactions. (Microsoft has recently started running Mojave-based cable TV ads to complement its online campaign.)
But, with Apple's Get a Mac ads still running strong, it's an open question who will have the last word.
The initial reaction in the blogosphere (and in our newsroom) has been largely one of head-scratching. Absolutely pathetic" and "really bad" were some of the phrases I saw on Twitter.
Among other posts on Twitter were "You're kidding me right? THAT is what they think will be better than mac vs PC ads? LOL," "what the hell was that?" and "OMJ the new Microsoft / Seinfeld commercial is so LAME!"
While most of the reactions were negative, it did garner a smattering of praise. "Wacky and very funny actually" wrote one poster on Twitter.
A source familiar with the campaign said the first ad is designed mainly as a teaser.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
I'm speechless. Can't find the right word of how ugly this ad is. With what? billions of money on microsoft? FAILS!
What's next? Sweaty Steve ballmer running with britney spears?
That said, maybe it is time for Apple to come up with a new angle in their adverts, but honestly - the results are damned hard to argue against.
2) Where are all these Microsoft ads playing? I just barely saw the very first instance of the "Mojave" ad last night... you'd think that $300 million would get them more ad time than the sparse showing I've seen so far. Maybe they just aren't interested in selling Vista pre-loads to the Pacific Northwest markets... *shrug*
The Mac/PC ads usually focus on the new popularity (or features) of Mac computers relative to the declining popularity (or problems) with Windows computers.
Do you ever stop trolling on your constant MS-bigotry? Just curious.
Not every Apple ad mentions the Macintosh. In fact, the iPod and iPhone ads don't mention it at all. Please be more accurate before making such statements. It invalidates your comments completely. Research is important to avoid looking like an uninformed idiot.
Where are all the ads playing? Let's see... ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, SPIKE, A&E, DISCOVERY, HISTORY, etc. Considering the ad started late last night, I expect you probably didn't see it much yet. Give it time. As it is, the 'Mojave' ad isn't even part of that $300 campaign. Check the news stories about the subject. You can even click on the SEARCH bar at the top of the CNET page here to make it easier.
Again, do your research and you can avoid looking like an idiot. Troll with your bigotry as you commonly do though and you earn the title proudly.
Apple's ads are successful. Their sales figures (2-3x more growth than the PC industry at large) prove it.
If Microsoft wants to succeed, they are going to have to at least study what Apple did here.
"Not every Apple ad mentions the Macintosh."
Err... if you say so. Here, try a quick mental exercise. Recite: "Hello, I'm a Mac." "...and I'm a PC." Do they sound familiar at all in any way, perhaps? They mention the product name ("Mac") right up front in in every commercial, use some (albeit sarcastic and cutting) humor to tout the Mac's advantages over the putative Vista box, and show a picture of a Mac at the end of nearly every ad. What part of this are you (and "open-mind") denying again?
As for the rest - hey, I'm just asking: Microsoft's "Mojave" thingy seems very low-key, and I have yet to see the new one. Now granted, I'm not one to really bother with broadcast stations, so I honestly don't know (which is why I'm asking).
C'mon, how many times have you seen a Nike or Levi's commercial on TV, and they do NOT talk about the shoes or the pants they are selling? They are just advertising the name, and making sure the public is aware their name is still out there in everybody's minds.
Having not seen the advert, did they at least show a computer running Windows?
"Having not seen the advert, did they at least show a computer running Windows?"
Wow. For a person who hasn't seen the ad, you sure have a lot ot say about what is and is not in it.
How often are you just making things up, I wonder?
(you can answer the question posed in this post too, if you desire).
I mean I've seen just about every episode of Seinfeld and I think he is really funny. However I'm still so put off by Bill and his corporate bullying and rumors of how much he used the f bomb whenever he reviewed anyone's work to think much besides they spent a lot of money to get Jerry to be funny around Bill Gates.
Hmmm...
1) You're put off by rumors of hard nosed business behavior. Odd.
2) What do you think Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison are like behind closed doors? Sweethearts? Puppy dogs. Get real. Jobs is known to park his Mercedes in handicapped spaces just because he's Jobs. Doesn't stop people from digging Apple products.
-Mister Winky
This is the lamest piece of advertising I've ever seen in my life.
You, marketing genious, do you want an honest opinion on how to improve public view on Microsoft software? Very easy -- pour that money to quality improvement. People are not (all that) stupid, you know, they can tell where they find quality, and where someone is so desperately trying to convince them, sell something to them. Shame on you!..
That's why, like many, many other users, first thing I do with a new PC nowdays is get rid of Vista, and install Linux on it (I prefer Ubuntu and its derivatives, because I love stuff that just works and does not clog my machine with garbage).
Once again, I feel sorry for both Bill and Jerry. What a humiliating experience.
This is why I stay away from much of Microsoft these days. All those billions, spent on 90 seconds of ***-asking instead of improving a lacking product that seriously needs to be improved. I hope someone at Micro$oft is reading this, because I think that the company seriously needs to start innovating and stop trying its best to sell products that aren't tested just to make more uncounted billions.
About Seinfield having shower with his clothes on, that refers to the Mac. You are not legally permitted by Apple to build from scratch like some personal system builders can do on Windows or Linux platform. Macs come pre-built from Apple (Psystar and co are seen as illegal in Apple's eyes). You are not legally allowed to build from bare bones or naked PCs.
At least at the end when Seinfeld asked "Are they ever gonna come out with something that will make our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working? If it's yes, give me a signal. Adjust your shorts." and Gates gave a sign. Microsoft is placing some Windows gurus at some Best Buy stores to convince people to buy Windows PCs. Some people wether in small numbers after seeing this ad would be curious as to what the new product from Microsoft is and some of these people will end up talking to these guys who will convince them to buy Microsoft products.
This particular ad was made for people to figure out what is going on and therefore make them follow the subsequent ones which will need no brainer to uncover the reason behind it. (Just like how the Playstation 3's 'This is Living' ad started)
I know bashing MS of late is a fashion but come on guys, just think about it and you'll get it.
Not everyone has Jerry Sienfeld (expert help in person) to rely on to make our "shoes fit" and some of us have to rely on some random Hispanics in the background who don't speak English (phone tech support).
"Having not seen the commercial, I wonder about something: are you saying the whole thing was some vague metaphor? Because if it is, folks who aren't tech-oriented aren't going to get that one."
I would recommend seeing the ad before you comment then. You're commenting without any actual experience or knowledge and that makes you look exceedingly foolish.
The ad is a metaphor and not one vague at all. I would give people more credit than you have. Really, people aren't as stupid as you make them out to be. They are capable of making their own decisions, Penguinisto. They don't need your uninformed comments talking about something you've never seen to sway their decisions.
It's a sad statement about your life, really.
I use PC's and Macs so I'm not bashing anyone. I just don't think it was a very good commercial.
I'm with the group that thinks MS ought to ask for their advert bucks back.
This is how Vista ended up being late, being started over halfway through, and missing features. It's like they started on it, but then they couldn't figure out where to take it. It's like they want to do this thing, but they can't see it in their mind what it is.
"If you have nothing relevant to say, just throw several tons of crap on the wall. Something is liable to stick eventually"
For example, compare the last two seconds of the ad with the last two seconds of the Mac vs. PC ads (or any ad for that matter). What do you see? In Microsoft's ad, you see the Windows logo. In other words, you see a "product" logo. In Apple's ads, you see the Apple logo. In short, you see a "company" logo. The same goes for any other company you can think of (i.e., Nike, Pepsi, etc).
The problem with Microsoft is their image (or brand) has been so beat up and diminished that they don't even want to use it (or advertise it). It's true. Look at the Xbox or the Zune. In each case, they created a new logo for that "product". Why didn't they use the "company" logo? Are they not proud of their company image? Creating logos for your products and never using your company logo to tie them together shows people just how dis-connected the company really is.
Many of you gripe about the fact that people by iPods or iPhones (or anything Apple makes) just because it is Apple. Whether you like it or not, that is the sign of a strong brand and/or image. No matter what they make, the only logo you see on all their products and in all their ads is the company logo. That's what pulls everything together. That's what shows people who you are and what your direction is. If you can't rely on your own company logo, then in my opinion that shows that there must be something distinctively wrong with the company.
Therefore, instead of wasting time and money with advertisements like this, I would suggest to Microsoft to start build their image by backing and supporting their own "company" logo. They should be focusing on their company and not their products. If their current company logo has too much "baggage", then maybe they should really change and create a new one. Not only would it help them to start from a clean slate, but maybe the new "image" will convince people that this is the "new" Microsoft and that this is the first of many changes coming in the future to get you to "trust" us again. To me, this is critical to the survival (and revelence) of the company.
Now the question becomes, will they?
- by Mr. Dee September 5, 2008 6:37 AM PDT
- This is the stupidest ad I have ever seen in my entire life. Microsoft, stop trying to destroy yourself, please! Vista is fine, ignore Justin and Apple, they will never catch up to you. You are an industry standard, they are niche, Apple is for people who waste time and don't have anything better to do with their brains.
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- by bgulien September 5, 2008 8:16 AM PDT
- Mr. Dee
- Like this
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