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Microsoft's Next Seinfeld Ad Airs: 'New Family'

A Lesson for Apple

For me, a longtime Mac user, these MS ads are refreshing compared with the pretentious Apple 'Mac Guy' commercials. Apple has had a fiercely loyal customer base in part because of their 'underdog with a better product' history. Apple needs to get off of their cloud and back to their roots.
 
I thought this was a little better than the first one and I chuckled to myself maybe once of twice but I still don't get the point. I don't really think these are good ads for Windows.
 
Microsoft ad

I thought it was pretty funny but nothing could be entertaining enough or funny enough to get me to use Microsoft based computers
 
Wow! I honstly didn't think the ads could get any worse, but as a student of advertising I'm trying to figure out who thought this approach was a good idea and who approved it.

On the plus side, Gates comes off as a nicer, sharper, funnier guy than Seinfield (who comes off as a complete jerk) and a better actor -- especially with children.

On the down side,

1. the ad makes fun of Microsofts largest supporters (the middle-class) and their children portraying them as clueless, stupid, spiteful and petty,

2. portrays Gates and Seinfield as considering themselves superior in every way to the hard-working, middle-class who support them,

3. presents middle-class kids as stupid, petty, obese, easily distracted and bought, totally uncool and not the hope of the future.

I don't understand how making fun of the very people you are trying to persuade to buy your product is suppose to enhance the MS brand. Does MS not get that the success of the Apple ads if that they sell the idea that if you switch from MS to Mac you'll become hipper, cooler, technologically more comfortable as well as make your life easier? Why suggest that your customers are hopeless, clueless losers and suggest that if you buy MS products you are doomed to a life of left-overs, tastelessness and renting out rooms to strangers to stay financially afloat? :confused:

But then again I'm still reeling from people actually thinking Palin is a "role model mother" and a competent VP candidate...
 
I Get It!

Hey, here is what they are doing...

Put out an adervertising campaign that is so bad that Windows Vista looks amazing in comparison. Here is the next tag line coming; "Go out and buy Vista and we will end the torture of showing you these lame comercials."

Epically bad advertising. I expected them to be bad, but not this bad. I guess Bill Gates has SOOOO much money (that he stole from the masses while running a monopoly) that he can afford to flush 1/2 Billion down the drain. Doesn't he know people are starving in Africa?
 
Apple colored glasses

Could it be that an apple fanboy (like me) can't get it, like MS followers can't get the Apple commercials?

Am I such a fanatic that I can't see the humor or direction of these ads?

Maybe the puzzle oriented, error loving, and masochistically obsessive data pushers, actually identify with this ad and think it's funny.
 
nellcooper said:
Wow! I honstly didn't think the ads could get any worse, but as a student of advertising I'm trying to figure out who thought this approach was a good idea and who approved it.

On the plus side, Gates comes off as a nicer, sharper, funnier guy than Seinfield (who comes off as a complete jerk) and a better actor -- especially with children.

On the down side,

1. the ad makes fun of Microsofts largest supporters (the middle-class) and their children portraying them as clueless, stupid, spiteful and petty,

2. portrays Gates and Seinfield as considering themselves superior in every way to the hard-working, middle-class who support them,

3. presents middle-class kids as stupid, petty, obese, easily distracted and bought, totally uncool and not the hope of the future.

I don't understand how making fun of the very people you are trying to persuade to buy your product is suppose to enhance the MS brand. Does MS not get that the success of the Apple ads if that they sell the idea that if you switch from MS to Mac you'll become hipper, cooler, technologically more comfortable as well as make your life easier? Why suggest that your customers are hopeless, clueless losers and suggest that if you buy MS products you are doomed to a life of left-overs, tastelessness and renting out rooms to strangers to stay financially afloat? :confused:

But then again I'm still reeling from people actually thinking Palin is a "role model mother" and a competent VP candidate...
Click to expand...

Ohhh boy... back to the books son. You really did not get anything at all. Your future doesn't seem too bright if you keep drinking the apple kool aid.

I kind of like them. Too long for an ad... but ok.

Well. Back to work
 
ajhill said:
I guess Bill Gates has SOOOO much money (that he stole from the masses while running a monopoly) that he can afford to flush 1/2 Billion down the drain. Doesn't he know people are starving in Africa?
Click to expand...

The ads are funded by Microsoft as a corporation, not Bill Gates personally. Bill Gates himself has donated over half of his entire net worth to charity and is one of the largest philanthropists in the world. Say what you will about Microsoft, Windows, etc. but the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation does excellent work. :cool:
 
idiosyncratic i said:
I found this one much improved over the first. There were actually a couple of parts where I was in danger of laughing. That said, if the point of the ad is to humanize Microsoft through Gates and Seinfeld, it fails completely. Those two come off as so out of touch, and above you're average person that they just seem like jerks. I don't think it's a good idea to hire a man whose whole show was about how self centered and jerky he was to help improve your image. Seinfeld makes for an amusing sitcom character, but a pretty terrible spokesman.
Click to expand...

But that's the whole idea. They discuss how they are out of touch and they are trying to get in touch with the normal person...and of course failing miserably. I loved this ad.

I think it works better than the first ones almost failed analogy of if Vista is a tight pair of shoes that needs a bunch of squeaking...just buy other shoes.
 
bobborries said:
Could it be that an apple fanboy (like me) can't get it, like MS followers can't get the Apple commercials?

Am I such a fanatic that I can't see the humor or direction of these ads?

Maybe the puzzle oriented, error loving, and masochistically obsessive data pushers, actually identify with this ad and think it's funny.
Click to expand...

"Puzzle oriented, error loving, masochistically obsessive." That's good.

I watched the ad with my wife. We laughed all the way through. Her reaction: "I like the old lady."

These ads are going to connect with a lot of people.
 
Actually I think I get what MS is doing.

They aren't making commercials. They are making more of mini, episodical sitcom. That will eventually tie together and make sense as a WHOLE.

See, if they fired back with Seinfeld stand-up against Apple they would be criticized for being uncreative copy cats and picking on smaller competitors, etc.

They don't need commercials based around what Vista does. They need commercials based around public perception.

As a single clip, these commercials don't help. But once they are all done, I can't help but wonder if the compiled results as a entertaining sitcom that ultimately ties everything together in the end and creates a friendly, relatable image of MS will be a good thing.

We'll see - I just have to believe that the marketing people they hired have an ace up their sleeves and this will all make sense in the end. I have a gut feeling it will...

This is NOT a commercial. It's... something different... something never been done. Will it work? Who knows... But if it does, which I think it could if done right, it could be a creative and original success that could be very good for MS.
 
filmguy123 said:
But once they are all done, I can't help but wonder if the compiled results as a entertaining sitcom that ultimately ties everything together in the end and creates a friendly, relatable image of MS will be a good thing.
Click to expand...

Yes, that MIGHT help the perception of these commercials later, but, right now they seem pretty stupid. The humor is either way too subtle or nonsensical. And watching Bill Gates give Jerry "signs" of various features by shaking his butt and doing a robot dance just makes me feel embarrassed for him.

Let's hope the final installment airs soon so we can fully appreciate the "brilliance" of these commercials, if it exists.
 
weird

Obviously, they are not trying to make people switch from Apples to PCs. But these mini series are so weird that you start wondering what will be next... After all, you can get a lot of attention if you behave like a weirdo. And even more if you are a weirdo with pockets full of $$$.
 
Uhhhh, not so much...

These ads, while showing Bill Gates to be rather nice, are bad because you never find out what they are selling. Also, too obvious "answer" to the "I'm a mac" ads.
 
I hated the first ad, but now that this one has been released, I can understand more the direction they are taking. I actually liked this ad.
 
Did any one notice that Gate's part of the door had basically no work done to it at all but jerry's did?

Once again, the creator of Windows is lagging behind and has yet to accomplish any polished work.

I mean seriously, if he cant fix a door, how can the man possibly fix Windows? :p
 
filmguy123 said:
Actually I think I get what MS is doing.

They aren't making commercials. They are making more of mini, episodical sitcom. That will eventually tie together and make sense as a WHOLE.

See, if they fired back with Seinfeld stand-up against Apple they would be criticized for being uncreative copy cats and picking on smaller competitors, etc.

They don't need commercials based around what Vista does. They need commercials based around public perception.

As a single clip, these commercials don't help. But once they are all done, I can't help but wonder if the compiled results as a entertaining sitcom that ultimately ties everything together in the end and creates a friendly, relatable image of MS will be a good thing.

We'll see - I just have to believe that the marketing people they hired have an ace up their sleeves and this will all make sense in the end. I have a gut feeling it will...

This is NOT a commercial. It's... something different... something never been done. Will it work? Who knows... But if it does, which I think it could if done right, it could be a creative and original success that could be very good for MS.
Click to expand...

This type of D-rated comedy will do wonders in deflating an already abysmal image MS and Gates have consistently achieved. This second feeble attempt has reinforced the awareness that Windows is a has-been, and now it is becoming more evident that Windows is a never-was.
 
Apple seems to have the right approach when it comes to this stuff. Microsoft should take there lead and go for a younger look.

If Microsoft wants to win over any college students - which they need to do if they want to stay in business after Google gets done with what they are about to do - they need to ditch the 2 old guys in a shoe store and make a much more stable, and much cleaner looking OS.
 
EV0LUTION said:
Apple seems to have the right approach when it comes to this stuff. Microsoft should take there lead and go for a younger look.

If Microsoft wants to win over any college students - which they need to do if they want to stay in business after Google gets done with what they are about to do - they need to ditch the 2 old guys in a shoe store and make a much more stable, and much cleaner looking OS.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this has not been Microsoft's capability from the outset. BG bought, hacked, and sold a Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS) to IBM, patched code to emulate the Mac Windows OS, and has been patching and hacking error ridden code ever since, with minimal innovation and complete disregard for refinement, stability, and coherence. These ads are actually doing more good for Apple than for Windows, as the mere existence of Windows has been doing for the past 10 years, while Apple has refined OS X and their line of excellent products. Those who value productivity avoid Windows altogether, and people are beginning to realize other viable options in both Linux and Apple. This seems more like Bill Gates' farewell episode, in a Seinfeldian finale style - perhaps Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen will make their cameo appearances as well. At least the focus has been diverted from the abysmal folly called Vista, (ME) to a quasi reality/comedy hour. Cheers.
 
MacProFCP said:
I enjoyed them both. I think they are funny and somewhat goofy in a good way. I like that it's more of a running sitcom than different ads like Apple. Not to say that Apple's ads aren't genius, but these are funny and original! If only Microsoft would spend so much energy on their products and they do on their ads!
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I totally agree. I'm not really impressed with the ads, although I can sort of see the joe-sixpack "folksy" appeal. It's too bad they are spending $300 million on such a contrived marketing campaign instead of actually making decent products.
Can you imagine how many small, innovative software products/companies/individuals they could buy with $300 million to get some fresh ideas integrated into Windows 7?!
 
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