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Microsoft's First Seinfeld Ad Airs: Shoe Circus
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Let me guess, you work for this ad company and they used Macs to make it it ... right?
I WISH I worked for that ad agency. The reason I knew about it was from an article from Fast Company magazine. I would say it's about a 99.9% chance they used Mac's to make it. Unless Microsoft fronted the money for a nice AVID setup for them or something.
Also, the ad would have been perfect if it had naked ladies.
I'm sorry, but this analysis smacks of knowing of the intent of the ad before having seen it. Did you read the recent Fast Company article on CP+B, perhaps?
American Analysis - TBD
I agree. But I also think there are subtle, unrelated messages in the ad.
Bill Gates - discount [shoe store] - why pay more?
-----Assumes PC is cheaper
He's [Bill Gates is] a ten (10)
-----Ten is usually a number of perfection, wholeness, or completion.
Later Bill Gates is associated with Microsoft (=Windows).
-----Thus Windows (represented by Bill Gates) is perfect, whole, complete.
Lastly, the obvious message:
-----The Future.
[No focus on any particular Windows version. Just forward-looking]
-----Delicious.
[A delight to use. As easy as eating, which Seinfeld does the whole time.]
-----[Windows Logo].
[Universally recognized. Used because non-techies won't connect Bill Gates with MS with Windows.]
In my opinion, the ad leaves too many loose ends with few if any ties. It just attempts to state that MS is perfect and cheap and delicious(!?). The analysis looks ok on paper, but fails visually. It also took me watching it and analyzing it four or five times to attempt to make some sense out of it. Most people don't analyze commercials, and just making statements that may seem to fly in the face of daily experience (at least for some) will have little effect.
Perhaps this marketing strategy works elsewhere, but I am doubtful it will work in the US, although it may help Seinfeld's career (or at least create some buzz for him).
I agree. But I also think there are subtle, unrelated messages in the ad.
Bill Gates - discount [shoe store] - why pay more?
-----Assumes PC is cheaper
He's [Bill Gates is] a ten (10)
-----Ten is usually a number of perfection, wholeness, or completion.
Later Bill Gates is associated with Microsoft (=Windows).
-----Thus Windows (represented by Bill Gates) is perfect, whole, complete.
Lastly, the obvious message:
-----The Future.
[No focus on any particular Windows version. Just forward-looking]
-----Delicious.
[A delight to use. As easy as eating, which Seinfeld does the whole time.]
-----[Windows Logo].
[Universally recognized. Used because non-techies won't connect Bill Gates with MS with Windows.]
In my opinion, the ad leaves too many loose ends with few if any ties. It just attempts to state that MS is perfect and cheap and delicious(!?). The analysis looks ok on paper, but fails visually. It also took me watching it and analyzing it four or five times to attempt to make some sense out of it. Most people don't analyze commercials, and just making statements that may seem to fly in the face of daily experience (at least for some) will have little effect.
Perhaps this marketing strategy works elsewhere, but I am doubtful it will work in the US, although it may help Seinfeld's career (or at least create some buzz for him).
Not sure what the big deal is...
Everyone has heard of Microsoft
Almost everyone can recognize Bill Gates, and if not they show his name
More people will probably recognize Jerry Seinfeld
It isn't like people don't undertsand what Microsoft sells. They aren't a new company needing to establish a brand.
So they can have fun with the ads. They don't need to make Apple or anyone else look bad to try and score a few extra sales.
Everyone has heard of Microsoft
Almost everyone can recognize Bill Gates, and if not they show his name
More people will probably recognize Jerry Seinfeld
It isn't like people don't undertsand what Microsoft sells. They aren't a new company needing to establish a brand.
So they can have fun with the ads. They don't need to make Apple or anyone else look bad to try and score a few extra sales.
Eh not sure about that. If he wanted to make a Seinfeld movie any studio would give him a blank check. Same if he wanted to bring the TV show back on NBC. Even though Bee Movie wasn't a huge hit, he could probably do anything anywhere if he wanted. I thought he was picky about his projects though. Maybe these commercials were like a week of work for $10 million and he thought what the hell. I need a few more Porsches.
I get the feeling there are MS spies running around on Mac websites posting comments on their forums, with a detailed list of Macs they supposedly own.
Oh those darned Windows gurus... they are clever and devious! Darn them all to heck!
No jokes against Apple?
Microsoft is weeakkk.
They should have thrown a few punches at Apple.
This ad isn't very good.
It's not me being a Apple fanboy at all either.
For as highly anticipated this was (for a commercial) I REALLY think it should have been better.
I bet Seinfeild uses Macs.
Microsoft is weeakkk.
They should have thrown a few punches at Apple.
This ad isn't very good.
It's not me being a Apple fanboy at all either.
For as highly anticipated this was (for a commercial) I REALLY think it should have been better.
I bet Seinfeild uses Macs.
No jokes against Apple?
Microsoft is weeakkk.
They should have thrown a few punches at Apple.
This ad isn't very good.
It's not me being a Apple fanboy at all either.
For as highly anticipated this was (for a commercial) I REALLY think it should have been better.
I bet Seinfeild uses Macs.
Not only does Seinfeld use a Mac, he proudly displayed them in each episode of his 9 year Seinfeld Television series, and endorsed the Mac previously with this "Think Different" ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNDEwsIGJKI
Perfect man for the job.
I don't remember Seinfeld ever actually using any of the various mac's on the show.
Did he endorse the "think different" ad or was it simply footage from one of his stage acts used to indicate that he was different from other comedians? I'm pretty sure the other folks on the ad didn't use Mac's, Einstein for sure.
NOW I get it!
I happened to catch the commercial on TV last night, but I didn't get it. I decided to watch it a couple of more times today on youtube, and then it dawned on me: The commercial makes about as much sense as the whole windows OS does. Now I get it!
As promised, Microsoft has started running their new ads using comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The ad has already been spotted by a number of readers.
The first in presumably a series of ads show Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in Shoe Carnival. A YouTube video is available.
Seinfeld was reportedly paid $10 million for his work in this series of ads.
Article Link
I happened to catch the commercial on TV last night, but I didn't get it. I decided to watch it a couple of more times today on youtube, and then it dawned on me: The commercial makes about as much sense as the whole windows OS does. Now I get it!
Although he never used them on the show, he did display them, even more prominently than he did his Superman figurines, including a Duo, a Classic, and a 20th Anniversary Mac.
You are joking, right? The "antithesis to Apple's campaign..." The commercial is the antithesis to to humor, marketing, common sense, etc...
It's ok to have your own point of view, just lay off of the Kool-Aid, dude...
i have to disagree. there has been no Vista Bashing for the sake of bashing. everything they have brought up in the 'get a mac' ads is simply a point of fact. a fact that is a negative yes, but a fact all the same. just like all the pluses they bring up about Macs are also facts.
yes they choose to focus on the negative facts that are a positive for Apple and avoid the negatives about Apple but that's just the nature of advertising. if Microsoft really wanted to compete with the GaM ads they should find the negatives about Apple that they can spin as positives for them and use the same technique. instead of pointless attempts at being funny that aren't
First, I think the Mac/PC ads are fairly funny *some* of the time....but are now overdue to be replaced with a new campaign.
I'm a pretty big Seinfeld fan, but this first Seinfeld/MS ad is LAME in my opinion.
Just adding my voice to the chorus...
I'm a pretty big Seinfeld fan, but this first Seinfeld/MS ad is LAME in my opinion.
Just adding my voice to the chorus...
the put Bill on the screen and have him talk about the freaking computers. not so some sketch comedy BS (and lame at that) about shoes and such.
have him do what Steve Jobs did, admit that they failed. yes it took Steve a bit to do it, but when Mobile Me failed to launch correctly he did finally step up and say that doing it at the same time as the iphone was a bad decision. and he pledged that they would do everything they can to fix the problems with both as quick as they could.
Vista was a disaster. it was launched before it was ready. if Microsoft wants to do damage control, put Bill Gates on the screen admitting this. and promising to do better. why? because millions of Windows users over the past how ever many years deserve better.
now that would be an ad to watch and pay attention to. not this garbage and not their 'mojave experiment' that seems to have been nothing but folks being told what the software could do and rating it without using it to see if it lives up to the hype.
the funny thing is that except for a couple of the early ads, Apple has been very specific in the ads. and not only that but they focused on just one thing at a time. such as viruses, out of the box easy setup, the iphoto book project, the mag safe power plug.
computers are complex so focusing on one thing at a time was a smart move. especially since fear of computers is a major factor in folks not using them.
This is proof that even if a company has a lot of money to spend, they can't make a good ad if they don't know how to use all of that money.
I watched Awkward Bill Gates make a fool out of himself for 90 seconds just to hear Jerry say that he wants a delicious computer? Give me a break
I watched Awkward Bill Gates make a fool out of himself for 90 seconds just to hear Jerry say that he wants a delicious computer? Give me a break
Half these posts are just us wanting M$ to fail REALLY hard. Thus huge f'in thread.
And that, they have already achieved.........
You don't let money like that sit in cash. Even high interest savings accounts usually pay under 3% interest which is less then the average rate of inflation so you would actually lose money over time. You can buy bonds or an annuity or high value real estate with income streams. Spread it around so you don't get killed by any one event. Oh and the banks don't insure anything, the FDIC does. For investments the equivalent is the SIPC.
I wish I had to worry about the FDIC coverage being inadequate to protect my savings...