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Microsoft's First Seinfeld Ad Airs: Shoe Circus

I need to get to rehab

I need an intervention, man. I was watching TV. I saw Jerry Seinfeld was talking to Bill Gates about shoes, man. In a shoe store, man. They the got in a shower with THEIR SHOES ON! Whoa!! Then Bill Gates bought the shoes, man! He Bought the SHOES!!! AUUUGGGHHH! WHy is my skin so itchy? WHY IS MY SKIN SO ITCHY???!!!! Mom was right watch crappy tv does rot your brain. Now there is some multicolored crap at the end. I'm having a bad trip. Help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!
 
This thread finally puts the final nail in the "Are Apple Fanboys Hypocrites?" coffin.

I hated the ad, but I also hate The Office, Arrested Development and all the crap on Adult Swim. For folks that like such garbage (and that happens to be the target audience), that ad was a home run.

If it were an Apple ad, and it was Steve instead of Bill, this thread would be twice as long and full of endless praise.

It makes the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads look like Leave it to Beaver.
 
Tosser said:
I don't know. I find Apple's commercial way too "hypey", too black and white, too much adressing the café latte wannabe segment, and too arrogant and upbeat, especially considering how OS X works (or don't), how good (or not) the QC is and so forth. It would suit Apple to get real and not just act arrogant, but actually deliver.

This MS-commercial? Well, it was a bit long (too long?), but it's obvious it's the first in a series. What does one do when beginning a story? You introduce the characters and set a scene.
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If you don't get it Apple's PC vs. Mac commercials are meant to be funny. They are. Some are great imho.. The MS commercial was sort of like Bill Gates himself. Bland.
 
Peace said:
If you don't get it Apple's PC vs. Mac commercials are meant to be funny. They are. Some are great imho.. The MS commercial was sort of like Bill Gates himself. Bland.
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I know the Mac vs. PC commercials are meant to be funny. That doesn't preclude that they are addressing the café latte wannabe segment. Neither does it preclude them from being arrogant, too upbeat, too "hypey", and/or too black and white.
Whether they're amusing or not surely depend on how much of a fanboy one is, how much part one is of the segment they address, and surely also what sort of "humour" one possess.
 
Poor Jerry

That spot makes me sad and uncomfortable.... for Seinfeld. He seems lost without Larry David writing his material -- reduced to vamping in bee costumes and waiting out uncomfortable silences between poorly conceived "quirky" punchlines. Seinfeld without Larry David is kind of like Bill Gates without Steve Jobs: both Seinfeld and Gates are best when borrowing ideas from someone more clever.
 
fivepoint said:
This simple ad is obviously part of a much larger campaign in which each ad will be tied to the one preceding it. The danger of these ads, however lame they may seem right now, is that they take the same approach as the Apple ads do by attempting to build a long-term audience and tell a story over the course of the campaign. People will tune into each episode (if for nothing else than to see Jerry) and follow the story closely. The only problem with that story, is that it won't be beneficial to Apple, and if it attacks the Apple ads directly, that could spell trouble.

In general, I agree with my initial assessment of "WTF?" but I can guarantee they are going to get much better and much more clear from this point forward. Expect Microsoft shills like Paul Thurott and the like to be championing the content in these ads.
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In other words, how could any of the subsequent ads be any worse than this one? For those who wish to stretch the very thin limits of MS's innovative imagination, "Conquistador" is the new name for Windows 7, which runs "very tight," so tight, that it will be waterproof, foolproof, and quite likely, consumer proof.
 
Unspeaked said:
I hated the ad, but I also hate The Office, Arrested Development and all the crap on Adult Swim. For folks that like such garbage (and that happens to be the target audience), that ad was a home run.
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Did you ever consider that something isn't necessarily garbage, just because you don't like it? Personally, e.g. I don't like electronic music at all, but that doesn't mean it's all garbage for idiots stupid enough not to notice - it's just not my cup of tea.

More to the point: One can like "The Office" (as I do) and still dislike the ad. Just because you happen to hate both, doesn't mean they're one and the same. And it's not because the ad has Seinfeld (I happen to like him, too) or Bill Gates in it - it's because it's a poorly written attempt at comedy.

"The Office" has punchlines and structure, even though they're not as easily recognizable as in "classical" sitcoms and may not suit everyone's tastes. "Seinfeld" may have been billed as a sitcom about nothing, but it actually had very clever stories and gags.

This ad, as far as I can tell, has absolutely no punchline or point to it at all. It seems to be a feeble attempt to make Bill Gates look better, but doesn't add up to anything. And had it been Steve Jobs in there, it still would not make any more sense.
 
Unspeaked said:
This thread finally puts the final nail in the "Are Apple Fanboys Hypocrites?" coffin.

I hated the ad, but I also hate The Office, Arrested Development and all the crap on Adult Swim. For folks that like such garbage (and that happens to be the target audience), that ad was a home run.
Click to expand...
This post puts the final nail in the "Apple Fans have good taste" coffin.
 
I don't understand the aim of that ad, to align Windows with Seinfeld and not Vista? It didn't make me want to use an MS product at all, or to the general consumer what that product would even be beyond very basic "computer-related" things. I don't get it :eek:
 
Unspeaked said:
This thread finally puts the final nail in the "Are Apple Fanboys Hypocrites?" coffin.

I hated the ad, but I also hate The Office, Arrested Development and all the crap on Adult Swim. For folks that like such garbage (and that happens to be the target audience), that ad was a home run.

If it were an Apple ad, and it was Steve instead of Bill, this thread would be twice as long and full of endless praise.

It makes the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads look like Leave it to Beaver.
Click to expand...

So I'm a fanboy for hating a commercial that makes no sense and strives on the old excuse-for-failed-ad 'any publicity is good publicity' routine that was perfected by the likes of Micheal Jackson et al.

And i absolutely love the office, both british and american.. Shot out to boondocks.. anyways...
 
fivepoint said:
Let me be the first to say it.

"WTF?"
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:eek:

That's a minute and a half of my life I won't get back - it was so bad I was looking to see when it was going to end. Seinfeld was great. But it was canceled for a reason - it's run its course. It's like taking, oh, Mac OS because it's cool and trying to sell a bad product on its cache - It's not an image problem Microsoft has - it's a PRODUCT problem.
 
Richest man in the world

still dresses like Mr. Rogers, but at the discount store, which might be subliminal to Windows being inexpensive, but all it leaves you with is, ``Like it's founder, Microsoft is cheap.''
 
Unfortunately, I didn't understand it completely. Could someone please explain it?

But it wasn't awful at all. (You guys are mean!)
And Bill Gates...haha, aww, what a cutie. :)
 
Tailpike1153 said:
I need an intervention, man. I was watching TV. I saw Jerry Seinfeld was talking to Bill Gates about shoes, man. In a shoe store, man. They the got in a shower with THEIR SHOES ON! Whoa!! Then Bill Gates bought the shoes, man! He Bought the SHOES!!! AUUUGGGHHH! WHy is my skin so itchy? WHY IS MY SKIN SO ITCHY???!!!! Mom was right watch crappy tv does rot your brain. Now there is some multicolored crap at the end. I'm having a bad trip. Help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!
Click to expand...



Bill Gates & Jerry Seinfeld

In the shower with shoes on.

Adjusting underwear ???

I had no clue they went 'that way'.

All that ad tells you is, well, ummm, nothing.

Reminds me of the ads Saturn ran before they were released.

A car under a tarp with the words .... It's Coming


Xander562 said:
He wasn't cancelled.

Number one actually...
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Yeah it was NOT CANCELED.

Seinfeld ended saying he " wanted to go out on top ".

Hmm ... was that a clue to his relationship with Bill Gates? :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
ddTaylor said:
Does anyone remember the iPod commercials with nothing but silhouettes of people dancing and psychedelic colors flowing around and throughout the screen? What did that tell you about Apple, the iPod or iTunes? It did nothing but introduce otherwise unknown (for the most part) musicians to the public and show how hip it is to own an iPod. It had no substance - yet it sold millions of iPods.

If it has anything to do with Windows and Bill Gates most people on this forum will shoot it down on principle and that is a shame.
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iPod silhouette commercials - product is displayed in clear view, being used enthusiastically.

New Vista commercial - shoes are sized. worked in, showered on, commented on, purchased, churros are chewed, retired CEO of MS becomes personalized, featured as a has-been retiree looking for bargains in association with a semi-retired comedian, both alluding to the distant future at the very end. Slight difference here.
 
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