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

I'm enjoying these advertisements, I think they're fun to watch even if they don't make much sense. I don't think I could ever go back to Windows (had it on partition for a while and things didn't work out), but that won't keep me from lovin' Gates' and Seinfeld's funky antics. :D
 
reno said:
My interpretation is ... Microsoft has had the cold, all-business, all-nerd like reputation for years ... they are trying to break out of that. They are doing what they always basically do -- copy Apple, who certainly has had a hip feel for many years. And just like they always do, Microsoft can't even make a proper copy! Mainly because they really aren't cool, so it's like trying to fit the proverbial round peg in a square hole. The closest they came to this in any of these ads so far is when Bill flashes his shoe member card and you see a picture of him in his 20s with the long hair and big glasses (a real picture, BTW). This was the only moment that had any real honesty or any real humor in it. Maybe they should've based the commercials on reality instead of this fake BS ... such as, yes I'm Bill Gates and I'm a big awkward nerd, but we've made some good stuff over the years and will do even better in the future (which I doubt, but this is marketing anyway). Instead, they are trying to add the cool factor simply by bringing in Jerry Seinfeld and having him do his "Seinfeld" thing. But even that schtick feels old now and it certainly doesn't work in these commercials. It's like saying chocolate makes anything good. So let's add some chocolate to this **** pie, it will be delicious ... it ain't gonna to work!
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Oh please, trying to copy apple, what a load of ********. You're acting like apple invented ads.

Microsofts ads are a clever rebuttal to the garbage that apple has been pushing for years. Apple latest elitist concept just fails, it's just designed to make apple users sound like condescending pricks which is the last thing you want to do when trying to sell a computer to someone you essentially just called an idiot.
 
DMann said:
The sad truth - after extorting billions from third world countries and our own with OEM taxes and licensing fees, Bill Gates established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) as a charitable trust, to write of billions owed in taxes. To maintain its status as a charitable foundation, it must donate at least 5% of its assets each year. Thus the donations from the foundation each year would amount to over US$1.5 billion at a minimum. This was the only feasible tax write off Bill could pursue to avoid surrendering funds to the US Government.Kudos for Bill for working this out, however, he is not to be endeared as a saint, by any means.
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I think your sum of 1.5 billion assumes Bill owns 100% of the 60 billion,thereby 5% ie a twentieth. I don't know what he owns but I doubt it's greater than 60%
MS's revenue,according to AS's report is $60 billion,revenue isn't profit and only profits are taxable.
 
AidenShaw said:
So, you prefer the arrogant, elitist approach?
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Now that's just silly and proves you are just the counterpart of everyone's opinions you judge here.
Elitist, arrogant, irreverent, cute.... funny is funny.

I think the Microsoft ads are funny, but I doubt they hit the mark. We will see.
Probably most people dont know what's going on. People understand the mac ads... and I dont mean mac cultist, but people who have used PCs and recognize all the problems implied in the mac/pc guy skits. Better writing, better acting... what can I say, just way more efficient in making a point.
 
SeeFlat said:
Now that's just silly and proves you are just the counterpart of everyone's opinions you judge here.
Elitist, arrogant, irreverent, cute.... funny is funny.

I think the Microsoft ads are funny, but I doubt they hit the mark. We will see.
Probably most people dont know what's going on. People understand the mac ads... and I dont mean mac cultist, but people who have used PCs and recognize all the problems implied in the mac/pc guy skits. Better writing, better acting... what can I say, just way more efficient in making a point.
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....not to mention, better products.
 
logicsuggests said:
Oh please, trying to copy apple, what a load of ********. You're acting like apple invented ads.
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Actually.... everyone copies apple. That's why your seeing damn "i"s in front of everything. That's why other computer companies started making colored computers, that's why microsoft made a zune. And everyone keeps saying apple will fail..... itunes will fail, ... ipod too expensive.....
iphone, that was the best... phone companies saying it's not easy as apple thinks... we have been working for years designing and perfecting phones and they will fail. They are all shaking in their boots now and wanting to play catch up. Im not even saying the iphone is better than anything, just that people keep saying it's crap.. (non mac people that is) and then there is this tremendous success. C'mon, a company just with one apple product would be doing pretty well by most standards in the free capitalist world. I'm saying they make nice stuff... it's normal people would copy them.
 
logicsuggests said:
Oh please, trying to copy apple, what a load of ********. You're acting like apple invented ads.
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Actually, Apple did invent SuperBowl ads.

On the specific topic of the MS ads, I thought this second one was cute. I'll reserve judgement on their effectiveness until the series develops, but as yet they have done nothing that would increase the likelihood that I (nor anyone else, for that matter) would buy product.
 
Gasu E. said:
Actually, Apple did invent SuperBowl ads.

On the specific topic of the MS ads, I thought this second one was cute. I'll reserve judgement on their effectiveness until the series develops, but as yet they have done nothing that would increase the likelihood that I (nor anyone else, for that matter) would buy product.
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VERY(very) unfortunately,it may seem like they haven't,but they undoubtedly have. These first ads are just the beginning of a very shrewd move on Microsofts part. While I,you or your family and friends,might consider these ads entertaining Jerry Hat Tricks etc,there's a strong polarising element to them. This campaign,in it's entirety,will make Apples pluckings from the Microsoft OS camp,inherently harder. The more people see these ads,the more they'll see Microsoft baffling and bewildering them,interspersed with product familiarity(think Bill's bag and firewall line) bringing them out of the darkness.Microsoft is effectively creating a knowledge cage(with carrots of specific known Microsoft entities) Watching over them,like a shepherd,keeping the evil wolves (confusion and fear i.e Apple) far from their shores. Just as people question,they'll have their cosy Microsoft to keep them safe! (VERY(very) safe fools!)
However,it's strikingly apparent that Apples (ultimately friendly i.e relevant and informative) ads,have enough common sense,to sway all but the VERY(very) most timid over time.
"Freedom is power"
 
SeeFlat said:
Actually.... everyone copies apple. That's why your seeing damn "i"s in front of everything. That's why other computer companies started making colored computers, that's why microsoft made a zune. And everyone keeps saying apple will fail..... itunes will fail, ... ipod too expensive.....
iphone, that was the best... phone companies saying it's not easy as apple thinks... we have been working for years designing and perfecting phones and they will fail. They are all shaking in their boots now and wanting to play catch up. Im not even saying the iphone is better than anything, just that people keep saying it's crap.. (non mac people that is) and then there is this tremendous success. C'mon, a company just with one apple product would be doing pretty well by most standards in the free capitalist world. I'm saying they make nice stuff... it's normal people would copy them.
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wow...
 
Here is a good question: why the hell are MICROSOFT ADS ON THE FIRST PAGE OF A MAC SITE?

Why dont you tell us about new Apple ads, I just found some new ones on the Apple site and they are great! :p
 
SeeFlat said:
Now that's just silly and proves you are just the counterpart of everyone's opinions you judge here.
Elitist, arrogant, irreverent, cute.... funny is funny.
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Well, I searched for "arrogant elitist mac guy", and this was near the top:

http://cravingideas.blogs.com/backinskinnyjeans/2006/10/apple_mac_vs_pc.html

Still, I think the ad is mean-spirited and elitist because it's portraying Macs as pretty perfection, and the competition as a freakish joke. This is too much of a stretch.
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...and the author likes the campaign, but thinks that the Gisele ad is mean.

An interesting comment in the thread is:

Posted by: kelly | Oct 11, 2006 at 08:06 AM

The suggested ad is better than the real one. Still I can't help but wonder if the campaign has already run a bit too long already. It preaches to the choir instead of converting.
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Complaints two years ago that Mac/PC was getting old.
 
The message (as I see it)

First time poster on these forums... so be gentle. ;)

I am a PC user who is looking at getting his first MAC for my next computer purchase (will have to save up a bit of $$$ because I want a MAC pro...)

Anyway... I think these ads do have a couple of messages (and I apologize if I am repeating what others have said... I read several pages of posts but couldn't make it through all 30 pages...)

Message 1: Positioning MS as a fun, friendly company and their products good for the whole family

Message 2: Both ads have ended with a promise that something 'new' is on the way.. MS has been hinting that their next version of Windows will be a break from the traditional interface (rumors have included touchscreen interface, no start button/menu, etc.). It seems to me that what they are hinting at here is that Microsoft is going to be doing something 'new' and 'exciting' that will make computers more user friendly and accessible.

I don't know if they are really taking many overt swipes at Apple in these ads (although there have been some... I think MS is suggesting that they will be a clean break from everything out on the market now).

In addition to the closing moments of each ad (where the promise of something new is overt), MS seems to be making this argument throughout the ads. The first ad talks about things that are outdated/hard to use (and that don't 'fit' the customers needs). The second ad has a number of references to things that are old/outdated such as the opening moments when the family is talking about a neighbors car with weeds growing around it. The father also says the grandmother has been there for 12 years .. the closest thing I could think of was Win95... which introduced what is still the basic Windows interface today (it has changed somewhat... but is still based around the desktop with the start button, start menu, etc.). The second ad also suggests that people (the family) are clinging to old things (the giraffe = WinXP?). Long story short (too late!), I see these ads are more geared towards getting people to move on from older Windows towards more "modern" (and, even more pointedly, future MS products). Anyway... that was my take (so far).

- Grim
 
grimwanderer said:
The father also says the grandmother has been there for 12 years ..
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Note that Steve Jobs has been at Apple for the last 12 years....

One of the earlier links was to an article that was suggesting that the grandmother represents Jobs:

http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39294-118.html

Adding up everything, we always came back to thinking about the highlighted visuals and grandma who has been with the family for 12 years. So, we know that Steve Jobs is represented throughout this somewhat aggressive and delusional grandma.

In one scene, she is described by Jerry Seinfeld as “That is real!” and Gates responds “I got that.” This very scene solves the picture of Steve Jobs and his character of made up and deceiving reality. Microsoft clearly points to Jobs’ reality distortion field.
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rephrase the question

mathcolo said:
I think that these ads are funny, but I continue asking myself... How does it help Microsoft?
Click to expand...

It's how *will* it help Microsoft.

It won't be for 6 months to a year that it will be possible to gauge the effect of these ads.

I suspect that it won't become clear until Windows 7 is launched - then we'll see that many "loose ends" come together.
 
grimwanderer said:
First time poster on these forums... so be gentle. ;)

I am a PC user who is looking at getting his first MAC for my next computer purchase (will have to save up a bit of $$$ because I want a MAC pro...)

Anyway... I think these ads do have a couple of messages (and I apologize if I am repeating what others have said... I read several pages of posts but couldn't make it through all 30 pages...)

Message 1: Positioning MS as a fun, friendly company and their products good for the whole family

Message 2: Both ads have ended with a promise that something 'new' is on the way.. MS has been hinting that their next version of Windows will be a break from the traditional interface (rumors have included touchscreen interface, no start button/menu, etc.). It seems to me that what they are hinting at here is that Microsoft is going to be doing something 'new' and 'exciting' that will make computers more user friendly and accessible.

I don't know if they are really taking many overt swipes at Apple in these ads (although there have been some... I think MS is suggesting that they will be a clean break from everything out on the market now).

In addition to the closing moments of each ad (where the promise of something new is overt), MS seems to be making this argument throughout the ads. The first ad talks about things that are outdated/hard to use (and that don't 'fit' the customers needs). The second ad has a number of references to things that are old/outdated such as the opening moments when the family is talking about a neighbors car with weeds growing around it. The father also says the grandmother has been there for 12 years .. the closest thing I could think of was Win95... which introduced what is still the basic Windows interface today (it has changed somewhat... but is still based around the desktop with the start button, start menu, etc.). The second ad also suggests that people (the family) are clinging to old things (the giraffe = WinXP?). Long story short (too late!), I see these ads are more geared towards getting people to move on from older Windows towards more "modern" (and, even more pointedly, future MS products). Anyway... that was my take (so far).

- Grim
Click to expand...


hmmm. i like the logic. I think that is sorta what MS was trying to express.
 
Sorry if this has already been said (I dont have time to sift through 700+ posts right now) but I find it a little offensive that Bill Gates and Seinfeld would not pay for fast food. I wouldn't find it funny if a poor person stole fast food. Thats not ever funny... and it sends a bad message. Its like "Microsoft - our pc's are cheap because we never spend our money!" Yeah, not buying it. For being a genius, Gates is sure dense as a doorknob for agreeing to this commercial. Sure, the grandma was funny, but in contrast, it made Gates and Seinfeld look worse. Its like "We're famous and powerful, but this old lady can outshine us by a mile!" They are basically doing Mac's advertising for them. I can see it now:
"Im a grandma."
"And I'm a pc."
"You suck!"
"No argument there, but we're trying!"
"Hand me the lo mein."
"No."

Buying a pc: $650
Buying a pc ad: $10 million
Gates looking like a d**che: Priceless.
 
Emsmu said:
...but I find it a little offensive that Bill Gates and Seinfeld would not pay for fast food. I wouldn't find it funny if a poor person stole fast food.
Click to expand...

Watch it again - they paid $600 for the Chinese takeout. It's more convoluted than you realize....
 
Wtf?

Microsoft dosent have anything innovative or good to say about there upcoming OS so they just pay seinfeld to advertise there new OS hopeing people will buy it?
 
While watching football today at a local pub, I've noticed a lot of iPod Nano commercials and this Microsoft commercial. Honestly, I thought this second one seemed too long. They had to break it up into too many sections, so the commercial that already had difficulties communicating to it's target audience had bigger issues when half the story was missing. After the commercial aired, I heard a guy yell out, "Like those guys carry their own luggage! They probably don't wipe their own ass!"

I just laughed.
 
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