Seinfeld-Windows TV Ad Anything But 'Delicious' 893
CWmike writes "Microsoft's $300-million ad campaign for Windows starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld launched Thursday with a long TV commercial almost entirely devoid of any talk of Windows, Microsoft or anything, really. With co-star Bill Gates, the scene is set in a shopping mall. Seinfeld, who did most of the talking, helps Gates buy a pair of shoes called the Conquistador. The commercial ends with Seinfeld asking Gates if Microsoft will "come out with something that makes our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working." Gates wiggles his rear to answer in the affirmative. The commercial ends (see video inside the story) with the Windows logo and the phrase 'Delicious.' Preston Gralla writes, 'I just saw Microsoft's much ballyhooed Jerry Seinfeld ad, and can say without equivocation it's one of the worst, most pointless ads in history. If this is Microsoft's response to the 'I'm a Mac' ads, it should fold up its tent and tell the world to switch to Apple."
Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:5, Interesting)
Clearly the OP does not really understand what advertising is usually about. Most mass market advertising does not try to provide information, it is providing associations. It presents something enjoyable (here it is assumed that Seinfeld+Gates==Enjoyable) and then presents the branding that they want to be associated with that enjoyable feeling. The crazy part is that this works, and in a weird way can be suggested as actually improving the product. Since the next time the subject of the advertising uses/sees the product, they will subconsiously access that association with enjoyment ... therefore the product is more enjoyable as a result of the advertising.
I am not saying that this is a good thing, but it is how things work in the real world.
Now you can argue either way as to whether Seinfeld+Gates=Delicious ... I didn't actually watch the comercial myself ... but they might be reaching as far a transitive association all the way back to the Seinfeld show, which almost everyone agrees was enjoyable. In any case I don't think there was ever any intent to have actual informative content in the comercial ... they are just "building the brand".
See Seth Godin's book "All Marketers Are Liars"
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/all_marketers_are_liars/ [typepad.com]
or a quick review of it here:
http://www.businesspundit.com/lying-marketing-and-perception/ [businesspundit.com]
Totally Agree, Practially Worthless Ad (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment (Score:2, Interesting)
Aren't Macs personal computers too?
Aren't Macs using the same x86 architecture as PCs?
What's the difference between a Mac and PC besides the operating system?
Oh Please.... (Score:3, Interesting)
And please don't tell my friends I said anything that sounded like a defense of M$... I have a reputation to uphold!
Just more of the same. (Score:4, Interesting)
These adds are just suppose to make people think that Microsoft knows the average Joe, that they are a approachable friendly company. Kinda like how Exon Mobile has those commercials to show their R&D in alternative energy aka "not placing all your eggs in one basket" The goal isn't to switch Mac or Linux people to Windows but keep Windows people on Windows. Most likely Seinfeld (a 1990s star during Microsoft PR heyday period, where they were considered to be the most innovative products out there, by many people) help bring back the feeling of the 1990's where running Windows was considered the cool thing to do, and running Mac or Unix was just prolonging the death of an obsolete platform, and Linux was just a Fad OS that will go away once Windows 95 is released.
It is kinda like see how good things use to be when Microsoft was your favorite OS.
Re:I thought... (Score:5, Interesting)
I should specify that I was watching it with some buddies of mine and had (up until this point) been quite raucous throughout the football game. But this commercial confused the hell out of us.
"Is it for charity?"
"Is it for shoes?"
"Is it for some sort of policy initiative?"
Nope. Windows. ...delicious.
Re:I thought... (Score:5, Interesting)
But the end... the end... that setup, the punch line/butt wiggle and Jerry's response? Uhhh, just non funny, dumb and baffling. There are many things about Bill Gates that are not funny. The body he inhabits and all parts contained within qualify under that designation.
Just. Bad.
Re:don't fold the tent yet. (Score:1, Interesting)
They could try... making Vista into a good product?
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:3, Interesting)
This ad appears to be about winning industry awards rather than selling something. British ad agencies are particularly susceptible to this, but US ones are far from immune.
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:3, Interesting)
"Delicious" is a variety of apple. So Gates is trying to say that Vista is pretty much the same as Apple :-)
Re:Oh Please.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, I find John Hodgman a riot, but that but the that little scruffy Mac guy just comes across like some beatnik who posts on Mac forums between fixing bitter-ass lattes at his Starbucks job.
As for this Microsoft commercial, it's not really good or bad, imo. I did like the old picture on his store ID card. The rest was kind of blah, but nowhere near the worst major brand advertising I've ever seen.
There's a mountain of bad ads including commercials for Feminine hygiene products, dick drugs, American Idol, Invest in gold or buy this cheapass coin from South America ads.
At least the Microsoft ads are kind of quiet and mellow. No OH SHIT like when whatever that horrible commercial is that starts off with the Hendrix version of the Star Spangled Banner thundering over the THX system at 3am when I am watching an otherwise quiet show.
I guess we are in the same boat. These are likely the two most positive comments any Microsoft ad will get here. Mind you, I bet the tone would have been completely different had Mac picked up Seinfeld. "OMG How chic campy!" or "Wow, good plan to target middle aged people!" and so on would dominate the thread and we all know it.
Re:What Are You Talking About? (Score:5, Interesting)
I think it is actually an ad for churros. I anticipate huge churro sales spike following this campaign.
Actually, I think it's an ad for ads.
The ESB and T3 ended exactly as this commercial ended: a set up for the next one. This is going to be a chain of commercials and obviously the first one is out of context and sucks.
Just wait for commercial 3.11^w 95^w 98^w 2000^w xp^w vista^w 7: it won't suck. It will be delicious.
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:2, Interesting)
it is providing associations. It presents something enjoyable (here it is assumed that Seinfeld+Gates==Enjoyable
I suppose that's one take on it. But this got me thinking about how Microsoft is really trying to ride the coattails of something else. Microsoft, the company that makes billions of dollars cannot come up with their own defining sense of brand? I suppose maybe it's always been like that. The Madonna XP campaign, and everyone remembers Start Me Up.
It's just interesting how Apple makes ads which are themselves considered to be innovative which works well with the products they are tying market, while Microsoft rides on Seinfeld in a directionless add that isn't really about anything. Once again MS is out of touch and lacks focus.
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:4, Interesting)
I've come to suspect that this in fact doesn't work at all
It may not work for you, but step back for a second and consider your background. You're knowledgeable about computers, probably a geek of some sort, and tend to be subjective of anything. Given that, this ad may not have targeted you at all. Instead, depending on the show, time, location, and where the commercial aired, will give you hint as to who they are targeting. If it was during a mid-day soap opera then they are probably targeting stay-home wives. If it was during an American football game on ESPN then they're probably targeting low to mid income men. My guess (I can't watch the commercial right now) is they are targeting the average Joe who gets his computer from Best Buy. If that's the case, this may already be a success. We'll have to see how sales of computer manufacturers like Apple, HP, Dell, etc fair after this ad campaign to see how effective it really was.
Re:I thought... (Score:2, Interesting)
I first saw it in a bar, last night, during a football game. The entire bar went quiet to watch it, laughed at the right spots, everyone laughed out loud at the end, and some applauded.
Sorry, but you're simply wrong, as is the original article. That ad was absolutely effective. It worked on every level.
Cope.
Re:It already succeeded (Score:3, Interesting)
The ad was a complete success. Can you believe that, after reading about it on Google News, I actually sought out and watched the commercial? Can you believe that right this very moment you are reading some unimportant commentary by someone whose opinion doesn't matter whatsoever about a TV commercial?
Score one for Microsoft.
Yeah, but did you watch it on CHROME?!?
Got to get the whole interwebs buzzing about something else this week.
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:4, Interesting)
Clearly the OP does not really understand what advertising is usually about. Most mass market advertising does not try to provide information, it is providing associations. It presents something enjoyable (here it is assumed that Seinfeld+Gates==Enjoyable) and then presents the branding that they want to be associated with that enjoyable feeling.
And that goes a long way to explain the commercial. Jerry Seinfeld for a bit of comedic glue to set the absurd scene. Shoe shopping. Churros. And a promise to offer computing so enjoyable that its like eating moist cake as you work. Which ties in to the churros and also sets itself up to be compared to someone else's "lickable" interface.
Re:What Are You Talking About? (Score:2, Interesting)
If you have to explain your ad to the world [computerworld.com] you should know you have done something seriously wrong.
It's funny that a lot of advertising agencies believe that they can actually duplicate the hype that has started around several services or products. And Microsofts advertising company just joined the club!
Re:Its Marketing ... no information required (Score:3, Interesting)
A long time ago I participated in a number of experiments involving hypnosis.
Among those experiments was one involving using hypnosis to make someone resistant to hypnosis, so that without a code word further hypnosis would be impossible. This wasn't a government project or anything spooky. Honest.
We had some success with this however there was a side effect.
The subjects became unable to bear watching advertising on television. It set off the hypnosis resistant defences. Other forms of advertising such as bill boards, newspaper or web banner ads didn't set this off.
Re:What Are You Talking About? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's a good ad, actually. (Score:4, Interesting)
Then they are going after the wrong market (Score:3, Interesting)
They GOT the white football fan. You do NOT suck up to your existing customers, you just give them good deals but not fancy smancy ads because they are already buying your product.
You aim a new commercial campaign setup to change the opinion of a product with the group who needs its opinion changed. That is the mac-whores, the linux-nerds and the XP-lusers. The middle age white guy who uses Vista because that is what came with his dell doesn't need to be convinced to buy Vista.
No, I think this case is far simpler. Advertising companies don't sell products, they sell ads. This advertisement company sold itself to Microsoft and this ad was just the by-product of it. It has no more aim then to get money out of MS and if that is done by convincing Bill Gates that he should shake his ass to the camera with an tv-star who hasn't starred in years, then so be it.
This ad has an audience of one and its name is Gates.
Re:It's a good ad, actually. (Score:4, Interesting)
as someone who helps out on ubuntu forums from time to time, that idea scares the crap out of me.
Re:What Are You Talking About? (Score:2, Interesting)
You got me thinking - would a speech therapist be able to help an adult get rid of a foreign accent? What about a child?