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This isn't an ad - it's a MINI SERIES. If M$ can't get their point across in 30 seconds...it's not worth watching.

This commercial is just like every other product...
filled with BLOATware

I agree, how long was that, how much did it cost to buy that kind of airtime?

I guess that the 'say good bye to laser' on 9/9/2008, wasn't much for Microsoft, I cannot find what the heck it was? I thought it was tied into this ad campaign in some way.
 
This one was funnier but the digs at Apple are so tame I'm not sure they are even 'digs' at all?

I agree. I think that MS is not so much worried about Apple (which still carries a small, but growing portion of the overall PC market), as they are trying to rescue their own brand. If so, it is a startling admission by MS that they have realized that they have, as was said (uncharitably) of astronaut Gus Grissom, "Screwed the pooch."
 
I really liked this one. I've started to understand what they are doing now. The best result though, is that I'm looknig forward to the next one, they've got me hooked.

Few things I've wanted to comment on in this thread though.

1) People saying that this still doesnt make them want to go out and buy a PC.
Would any advert you could possibly conceive ever do that unless it was informing you of 95% discounts just down the road. What ridiculously short term fix do you think these adverts are meant to have? Considering this is a computer forum, have any of you ever based a major tech purchase on an advert?

2) A lot of you seem to think this advert is purely about making Bill and Jerry to be "just like you" real people and then point to them being rude as betraying this idea. Youre missing the point.

3) Have any of you noticed that about half of the people on an apple forum still like this advert? And loads of you still post "epic fail" or "microsoft have wasted all that money". If you don't like the advert, just say you don't like it, or why you don't think it will work, why not add to the conversation?

4) Not understanding or getting where an advert is going, isnt a sign of the adverts failure. A lot of posts in this very thread explain what is trying to be achieved here.

Lastly, and this applies to all threads and sites every where. Everyone who writes M$ instead of MS, or Micro$oft instead of Microsoft, are you five years old? What are you complimenting how much money they have? Do you think that Apple or any other large company isnt governed entirely by money? Its stupid things like that made it so hard for me to switch to Macs in the first place.
 
Hmm lol

I think my favorite part was watching bill do the robot. Not really sure of the message but it was fairly amusing.
 
What is she doing under the car if it is a "blown head gasket". Wouldn't that be accessible from the top of the engine?

Not necessarily. A blown head gasket will often manifest itself by causing a watery froth in the motor oil as coolant passes through the gasket and gets mixed into the oil passages in the engine. Drain the oil (from under the car) and examine it.
 
People who work in and/or know advertising are pretty much unanimous in their verdict: These ads are pretty damn good and do their job. I have a 12 year background as a content producer in marketing and advertising and I can only agree.

Do their job for what? what is the point of these advertisements? akin to the 'we're part of the community' ads which large power companies do to some how demonstrate they are 'good corporate citizens'?

You're going on about how great these damn things are without explaining what the purpose of them are!

The mere fact that you think these ads are trying to sell you a PC is a clear indication that you have absolutely no idea what's going on.

Then what is it trying to inform me about? there is no narrative, no story, no path in which the ad is trying to take me down and sell me something. It is just a story about nothing. What is the purpose - what are they trying to tell me?
 
I don't think we've gotten to the ad yet... I really think this is all set up for the ad campaign. People are taking this way to seriously. Microsoft is dumping a lot of money into this campaign and as others have said, I'm sure they've done their research and know where this is going.
 
I liked it. It is long and as someone else said, it's sort of like a mini series. Sort of like how I'm a mac and I'm a pc ads are a series. I think these ads will catch on if they keep airing them, just like how the macs ads caught on and now that pc guy is a celeb.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

"and now the pc guy is a celeb"

-these ads are not made to promote Microsoft or Windows.

These ads are to promote Bill Gates as a likeable guy like PC guy in the Mac ads.

The series feels like a sitcom. And it will get progressively longer, until it reaches the length of a sitcom. So Seinfeld will make his comeback on a show about nothing with Bill Gates replacing George that started out as an Ad.

THEN, it will get progressively longer and will result a full length feature film.

When Bill Gates achieves this and continues to make more and more films, he will become a Hollywood star.

FINALLY, he will run for President of the United States.

His name will be changed into Big Brother.

He showed the kid in the commercial his plan to rule the world. Giraffes like the one found in his bag will be fitted with cameras and sensors so that he and Seinfeld can continue to "study" real people all over the world. And they're starting now in this commercial moving from house to house, installing "Firewalls" into every computer they find and sensors into every stuffed animal.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
 
Let me guess. You're in college? LOL.

I own a successful company and could probably buy and sell you five times over because I have run numerous successful advertising campaigns. I think I know what works and what doesn't.


Like what? the crap I see on in the US - I swear, I want to blow my brains out. If it isn't the nationalist laden horse crap I see being pushed off as 'political advertisements' (aka, log cabin, warm apple pie on the window ledge, old man in a rocket chair by the fire place) its half baked advertisements by self aggrandised people like yourself - where the damn thing never gets to the blasted point.

This is a advertisement, the average person has a friggin attention span of a goldfish - if you don't get the damn message in before their brain shuts off, it is wasted money, wasted effort.

Btw, I am not in 'college'. I have worked on advertisement campaigns, and I can tell you that short, sharp, to the point campaigns work the best. You on the other hand think that your mission is to to create a titanic like epic movie.
 
It would have been great to see Gates and Seinfeld contrive a revenge on the daughter.
You are a prophet! That would have been most outstanding! ;)

I have worked on advertisement campaigns, and I can tell you that short, sharp, to the point campaigns work the best.
Really.....

If you stand by your assertion and your primary source of income is advertising, it might be time to consider a career change.
 
Like what? the crap I see on in the US - I swear, I want to blow my brains out. If it isn't the nationalist laden horse crap I see being pushed off as 'political advertisements' (aka, log cabin, warm apple pie on the window ledge, old man in a rocket chair by the fire place) its half baked advertisements by self aggrandised people like yourself - where the damn thing never gets to the blasted point.

This is a advertisement, the average person has a friggin attention span of a goldfish - if you don't get the damn message in before their brain shuts off, it is wasted money, wasted effort.

Btw, I am not in 'college'. I have worked on advertisement campaigns, and I can tell you that short, sharp, to the point campaigns work the best. You on the other hand think that your mission is to to create a titanic like epic movie.


Jesus christ you fool, theres a 30 second ad and a full length ad as well. Its not epic long unless you yourself care enough to go check out the full length one, and if you do, the ads already done its job (though that comes with microsoft being a giant corporation).

Dont tell me it was pointless too, cuz telus's non-relevant animal based ads have been some of the most effective ever in canada. I cant take you seriously when you say youve worked in advertising, somehow, i dont believe that.
 
One good thing about these ads is that I actually got to know Sinefeld. As far as I know american television-comedians, he is pretty good ... If it was 1980! Exchange him with Bill Cosby and you would not see any difference, well... at least the two main characters would have about the same age. :p
 
Just to give a little feedback of my own...

I really liked this one. I've started to understand what they are doing now. The best result though, is that I'm looknig forward to the next one, they've got me hooked.

Few things I've wanted to comment on in this thread though.

1) People saying that this still doesnt make them want to go out and buy a PC.
Would any advert you could possibly conceive ever do that unless it was informing you of 95% discounts just down the road. What ridiculously short term fix do you think these adverts are meant to have? Considering this is a computer forum, have any of you ever based a major tech purchase on an advert?

In so far as seeing an ad informed me of a new product that I then decided to buy, yes. In fact, it happens somewhat regularly. The fact that I research the purchase before making it doesn't invalidate the fact that often it starts with an ad. And if that weren't the case, then why would any company bother to spend money on ads?

2) A lot of you seem to think this advert is purely about making Bill and Jerry to be "just like you" real people and then point to them being rude as betraying this idea. Youre missing the point.

No real comment here. I don't think that. These ads just puzzle me.

3) Have any of you noticed that about half of the people on an apple forum still like this advert? And loads of you still post "epic fail" or "microsoft have wasted all that money". If you don't like the advert, just say you don't like it, or why you don't think it will work, why not add to the conversation?

Okay. As ads, these seem rather pointless. I understand some of what they're trying to do, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't see them as being all that successful. There have been a number of ads that I have truly enjoyed over the years. Frequently, I don't remember what the ads are for. This begs the question, despite the fact that I liked them and I remember them, are they actually successful ads?

By contrast, I don't really like these ads. They seem to be taking some of the worst aspects of Seinfeld (a TV show that I enjoyed some of the time and loathed the rest of the time) and applying them to commercials with BG in them. This, in general, leaves me cold. Then you add in the fact that there isn't really a clear product being advocated (soft cake-like computers? amoeba's with a blog?) and you end up with what seems to me to be a truly pointless ad. Does the ad have entertainment value? Marginal. But does it at least convey a strong message about the product? No.

Now, I will freely grant that I may have a minority opinion about the entertainment value of these ads, as I am aware that I am in the minority in my opinion of the Seinfeld TV show. But, this is, after all, my opinion.

4) Not understanding or getting where an advert is going, isnt a sign of the adverts failure. A lot of posts in this very thread explain what is trying to be achieved here.

You know, that's really easy to say, but when the thread has exceeded 500 posts, finding posts on particular topics within this thread isn't easy. So, while I'm sure there are some wonderful posts about what these ads are trying to do, I'm not going to wade through pages and pages of posts with people saying "WTF?" to try to find them.

Lastly, and this applies to all threads and sites every where. Everyone who writes M$ instead of MS, or Micro$oft instead of Microsoft, are you five years old? What are you complimenting how much money they have? Do you think that Apple or any other large company isnt governed entirely by money? Its stupid things like that made it so hard for me to switch to Macs in the first place.

Okay, so, to this last part I have to say "grow up". This is a Mac board. Have you ever visited a PC board? I have. People on PC boards tend to be even harsher toward Apple than people here are toward MS. Sure all companies are driven by money, but from the perspective of a lot of people here, MS takes this to a new extreme. Remember all the different pricing options for Vista? A bit ridiculous. In any event, the expression of this perspective, correct or not, by calling them Micro$oft or M$ hardly seems such a crime. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people write "CRApple" or "Macincrap" or, one of my favorites: "Most Applications Crash In No Time Or the System Hangs = M.A.C.I.N.T.O.S.H."

I guess my point is that any time you go somewhere where you'll find fanatics, you're going to find slurs being slung against the other guys. Personally, I don't consider myself to be a fanatic. I like Macs better than PCs, but I work with both and I can see the strengths and weaknesses of both. Mac's aren't perfect, and PCs aren't spawns of the evil one (and Bill Gates isn't the evil one ;) ). So, when I'm on this board, or a PC board, I just let those slurs go by. Sometimes I'm amused by them. Other times I ignore them. I suggest you work toward the same.
 
Stock

The first ad was Bill gates saying that he had passed along "his mind" to the people of Microsoft.

The second ad is saying that even though bill gates is gone they are still "moving forward" (if you can call it that)

It's about trying to keep stock up for MSFT they are not advertising for Vista or anything else except MSFT stock.
 
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