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Microsoft's First Seinfeld Ad Airs: Shoe Circus

skeep5 said:
i'd say its definitely the first in a long series, its for branding not for quick sales. they're trying to revamp the image, the brand, not sell the latest version of windows. and how do you do that? you get seinfeld to come do your spots and make you look cool instead of inept.
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That's what I thought. Well, that's what I thought after "WFT?" for a minute or two. This is the introduction to how they meet and now Jerry will follow him around and be...Seinfeld.

I liked the ID card, it saved the whole crappy mess IMO.

They want you to think WTF? So there's that.
 
I'll watch the ad when I get home from work. In the mean time, I'm not sure why the ad would be considered disappointing. Looking at Seinfeld's previous extended ad series, AmEx Superman, there was a foundational storyline to each episode as wells as the series. The MS ads are made for TV rather than the internet, so I expect that they are a little choppier.

Given time, these ads will likely usher in a view of MS, not as cool, but as friendly and available to everybody. Additionally, it will bring some sense of appreciation for what MS brings to the table for consumers.

"Oh yes! Wyoming! There's no place I'd rather be...going!"
 
Renderz said:
I agree, this Ad does leave alot of questions, however it has succeeded in it's primary goal... to get your attention.

For all those people out there who dislike this Ad, how many of you will still watch the 2nd Ad when it comes out? Gates is still a big draw and a major player in the land of fame.

I dare say most of us will click, discuss, dissect and examine the next Ad. In which case, the campaign is working.
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Yeah. The WTF factor was clearly a part of the plan... if you go to Microsoft's home page and watch the HQ version, they've already prepared it so that you can submit it to Digg, Facebook, Live, Newsvine etc. The idea being that you watch it, you don't get it, then you link to it and write a WTF rant. Eeeeveryone walking right into the viral video trap like little lemmings.
 
wowm i was afraid they where gonna diss apple on tv, and im glad they didnt but, strangely im disappointed
 
Wow. That was awful. I learned nothing about Windows there. I mean, if i wasn't for Bill Gates, I really wouldn't have a clue what the ad was for until the end.

At least with the 'Get a Mac' ads they actually discuss computing and help you learn something about a Mac.
 
WAIT, does he have to shop at the discount store because Vista's sales are so bad?
DID THEY EVEN THINK WHEN THEY MADE THIS AD?

anyways.. this ad is so long, don't you think they could have snuck something about Vista in, and it's just not funny.
i am so confused.
 
drakeshipway said:
WAIT, does he have to shop at the discount store because Vista's sales are so bad?
DID THEY EVEN THINK WHEN THEY MADE THIS AD?

anyways.. this ad is so long, don't you think they could have snuck something about Vista in, and it's just not funny.
i am so confused.
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Check out the posters in the store. ( You have to stop and view them)

DP
 
i find it a little confusing and wonder if some people here a really that arrogant or just cant keep an open mind. i mean you sound like know-it-all-know-nothing hollywood producers "yea, this ad needs to be three times shorter, have a couple more windows logos, lose the two midlife guys and dont stage it in a crappy shoe shop, how bout, i dont know, some style? and for christs sake tell people what to think and buy! its so simple!".

i for one am glad to just see the first installment of a strange buddy dynamic involving seinfeld and gates. sure its strange and unusual, but i find it intriguing that way. better than the dodgeball kid making me, as an apple user, always check in the mirror that i dont look too much like him yet... what an insult to intelligence those ads. (and notice how microsoft takes up exactly where apple made the big mistake: the nerd is the one we actually root for, who isnt cool but kinda cool that way. but instead of john hodgkins theyve cast the original, gates)
 
thehouseofdis said:
Funny that Microsoft chose a comedian from the 90s for these ads. Way to stay on top of things Bill!
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That's the whole point. He's there precisely because he's a big fat chunk of the 90's. He's there to make you subliminally hear the god awful slap bass theme music for Seinfeld. Don't you get it?

Apparently some of you think that M$ thought up this concept themselves, but I can assure you they're in the back seat on this one.

The ad was made by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the hottest ad agency on the planet. It's a 700 employee agency, labelled "the craziest ad guys in America" by BusinessWeek. Viral marketing is their forté, and you will think exactly what they want you to think. Choose your words carefully, because chances are that you will look like a damn fool by the time this ad campaign has run its course.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5C1 Safari/525.20)

Seemed like a clip from a Sienfeld episode. While the ad wasn't horrible, it had absolutely ZERO to do with Windows or Microsoft.

At least the Mac-PC ads poke fun at Windows. This made fun of shoes, churros and Bill Gates. I thought making fun of Bill was Apple's job, not Microsoft's.
 
MickdyMickdyMAC said:
Yup, so bad it's good.
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no silly, willy! i haven't had a churro in a long, long time. that's what i meant when i said i couldn't look away. my thoughts were as followed in chronological order; "Ah, i hate the mall." "OMG! a Churro! I freakin' love churros!" "i've never worked in a shoe shop." [mind fell into oblivion for about 10 seconds] "ha, william gates. . nice picture, NERD!" "what are they talking about. . holy cow! now they BOTH have a churro!"

that's what i meant. i've watched the thing once, that's all i care to watch.
 
First of all Bill Gates is a BAD ACTOR.

Secondly why is the guy shopping at a discount shoe place? What is that telling the audience? That he's cheap? Is Microsoft struggling so much that he's a Platinum card holder of Shoe Circus? If I were Bill Gates I would be embarrassed by the images he's protraying. He complains that the shoes are pleather? Why is he demanding perfection? Your at the freaking Shoe Circus!! What kinda cheap skate hunts for the perfect shoe at a hole in the wall payless shoes store?? Freaking suck it up and go to a descent shoe store! Cheap shoes don't last long. Microsoft is getting it completely wrong. This whole buying shoes analogy fails tremendously. You shouldn't have to wear your shoes in the shower to make them fit right! Just like you shouldn't have to go through several unnecessary steps to get your computer to print you document correctly or download your photos off your camera. That is a classic frustration of microsoft which they reinforce with this commercial. Nothing is easy everything takes extra steps. People PAY MORE for a pair of shoes that fit! People PAY MORE for products that last longer. PEOPLE PAY MORE FOR QUALITY!!! ...be it shoes or computers.

This seems to be a sad reflection of the problem microsoft has to begin with. If Bill Gates would stop hunting through the bargain bins (no offense Jerry) and fork over the money to start pooling together the experts maybe Microsoft would actually start improving their OS, thinking outside the box, pushing the limits and create some descent products!!

*** If this is how he buys his shoes, then I don't want to buy his computers.***
 
xraydoc said:
While the ad wasn't horrible, it had absolutely ZERO to do with Windows or Microsoft.
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It wasn't supposed to. The purpose was A) to make everyone scratch their heads and go on all the blogs and forums and discuss, rant, speculate, bash. Mission accomplished, and then some (this thing is everywhere right now).

B) To set the stage for the ads to come. They start out with Gates and Seinfeld forming a friendship, so that they can move on to phase two, which according to the press release is...

"The new campaign will highlight how Windows has become an indispensable part of the lives of a billion people around the globe—not only on PCs but also now online and via mobile devices. It will illustrate how Windows integrates consumer experiences across PCs, online and on mobile phones through Windows Vista, Windows Live and Windows Mobile."

From this rather dry account we can extrapolate that Bill and Jerry will find themselves in various situations where they happen to stumble across stuff that's driven by Windows, everyday stuff we take for granted. Probably some fictitious secret future technology as well (Gates giving Seinfeld the grand tour of his home, jam packed with strange futuristic contraptions... etc). Gates will play the straight man and Seinfeld the wisecracking, inquisitive and out-of-touch guy (hence the choice of a stale 90's icon rather than someone fresh who arguably should be up to date on the latest tech).
 
Anuba said:
That's the whole point. He's there precisely because he's a big fat chunk of the 90's. He's there to make you subliminally hear the god awful slap bass theme music for Seinfeld. Don't you get it?

Apparently some of you think that M$ thought up this concept themselves, but I can assure you they're in the back seat on this one.

The ad was made by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the hottest ad agency on the planet. It's a 700 employee agency, labelled "the craziest ad guys in America" by BusinessWeek. Viral marketing is their forté, and you will think exactly what they want you to think. Choose your words carefully, because chances are that you will look like a damn fool by the time this ad campaign has run its course.
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Did they market Zunes too? Just wondering.
 
When the news first came out that Jerry Seinfeld was being chosen to do Microsoft Ads I was very much shocked that Seinfeld agreed. I am a huge Seinfeld fan, I think that his comedy is unique and he did a great job in the American Express ads. However, I don't think someone who was portrayed in his sitcom as a Mac User and probably someone who does use Macs is in the right place doing Microsoft ads.

I watched this ad and I do think that it was silly, but what does Microsoft have? At least the "Mac Vs. PC" ads tell the viewer why Macs are indeed better than PCs.
 
Digitalclips said:
Did they market Zunes too? Just wondering.
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Har de har. ;)

No, the Zune was marketed by the usual knuckleheads who handled all of Microsoft's marketing in the past. This time M$ decided to go waaaaaay outside their comfort zone and approach CP+Bogusky. Think soccer mom at a Marilyn Manson release party. CP+B is known for making bizarre stuff. Remember the Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit GTI commercials with Peter Stormare ("un-pimp ze auto"), and the other GTI series "My fast"? They made those. If y'all weren't talking about how the Gates/Seinfeld commercial totally weirded you out, CP+B would be firing some people now for failing to hit the weird note.
 
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