Microsoft/Seinfeld Commercial

[jack]

Anyone else think this is a complete turd and devoid of any humor? it's like bill gates completely sucks the life out of any scene. useless. pathetic. did they test screen this in redmond? makes me realize how much of seinfeld's show was dependent on good writing and a brilliant supporting cast.

they could have just paid JoS half a million bucks and done some cool animation thingy to his "welcome to windows" and that would have been way cooler.

it makes the mac/PC commercials look that much more on point.

[Paco Del Stinko]

I wanted to laugh when I saw it, but couldn't. Lifeless and forced.

[Lunkhead]

It sucks. I feel like they should have paid everyone in America a few dollars for being forced to watch it.

[Hoblit]

Ha, a thread on a commercial, nice.

Yeah, that commercial sucks. Its definitely Bill's fault.

I like that JS offers Bill some of his Churro. But its pretty much all downhill from there. The card Bill presents with his infamous mug shot is 'cute' but as ya'll pointed already, Bill sucks the life out of the jokes.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Jerry's parents won't be able to show their faces around Del Boca Vista.

[Reist]

My curiosity was sparked, so I youtubed it.

It's bad. Bill Gates is not a funny guy. Just really awkward. He should stick to computers.

[jimtyrrell]

The commercial made me think of the old Miller Lite commercials from the '80s, with football players who couldn't act and weren't funny, but were recognizable. It was the same kind of 'I want to think this is funny' feeling.

This commercial was ridiculously LONG, too. Especially for something that had so little to do with the product. I dare say there's a few other things Microsoft could have put that money into. But they've got me talking about them, I guess...

[jb]

Well, it's more like a coke or nike commercial than anything else. Trying to frame Microsoft as a ubiquitous brand (which it only sort of is) with an attitude and a lifestyle that you can tap into.

Not saying it succeeded, but that's the pitch they're throwing.

[Spud]

They have not yet thrown the pitch. They are still in bullpen warming up.

[jack]

Well, it's more like a coke or nike commercial than anything else. Trying to frame Microsoft as a ubiquitous brand (which it only sort of is) with an attitude and a lifestyle that you can tap into.

Not saying it succeeded, but that's the pitch they're throwing.

i agree that they were trying to play up the "ubiquitous" aspect of the pervasiveness that Microsoft enjoys in most peoples lives, especially by having a guy whose well known for making a career about talking about the ubiquitous trials and tribulations of life itself. it's just too long and not at all funny. it tries too hard to be hip with the humor and falls flat.

unlike those Mac commercials.

any yeah, people are talking about it but for all the wrong reasons (how much it sucks), just like Vista.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Now, if they were speeding around in their respective Porsches, ripped to the tits and playing computer poker on laptops at the same time, that might be amusing. Maybe Kelsey Grammer could do a cameo, heh.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Now, if they were speeding around in their respective Porsches, ripped to the tits and playing computer poker on laptops at the same time, that might be amusing. Maybe Kelsey Grammer could do a cameo, heh.

See, now that's what sells product.

[Hoblit]

Microsoft might take a small hit from Macs being popular these days and Macs get all the movie product placements, but I think their main competition would have to be in the server arena.

They excel there (no pun intended) and a fact that those PC/Mac commercials even point out is that Macs can run Office products now. Well, that's because Microsoft made those versions and are making a pretty penny selling those versions and licenses to.

I think my point is that Microsoft doesn't HAVE to advertise all that much. Now they've made a terrible commercial that we're all talking about anyways.

[JonPorobil]

I guess I'm the outspoken guy in this group, but I thought the commercial was relatively amusing, for a commercial. Though, because I'm evidently a bit slow on the uptake, I did spend the first thirty seconds or so thinking "Wait, who the hell got Bill Gates to appear in their commercial?" Well, duh.

I didn't think it was abominable, though it was ineffective in that it's a 2-minute spot that doesn't actually promote any particular product. Or even make explicit mention of any particular product. Just Microsoft. Which is a bit like saying "Shop Sony." Microsoft makes a lot of things. Some of them are worth buying. Others aren't. And if you see the commercial, and recognize Bill Gates, and know what the word Microsoft means, then clearly the commercial isn't telling you anything you don't already know, so why again does it exist?

Who cares.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Wait, it wasn't a commercial for churros? [Insert George Carlin's "Cigars" routine here]

[jack]

ok, i'll admit this one's a little better. longer. must be nice to be able to blow big money on a 5 minute commercial about nothing. but seinfeld has made a career out of making a 30 minute show about nothing, so i guess in that way, he's perfect. at least gates seems to loosen up and seems less stiff in this one.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I like that one, Jack. Looks like a Superbowl commercial.
Is it just me, or is the mother/wife the same mother/wife from the Shoes video?

[jack]

apparently, the exercise in futility to make Microsoft cool has run it's course.

and now, Seinfeld has to live with this on his resume.

[JonPorobil]

You mean spending all that money on hiring Jerry Seinfeld and making 4-minute TV advertisements to run during prime time didn't pay off in less than two weeks? No way. That was a surefure get-rich-quick scheme.

I like how the Microsoft flunkies say that they had planned to drop Seinfeld from the ads all along, but they've clearly made other ads that will now never air. They expect us to believe that they filmed entire spots with no intention of ever running them? That's just insulting.