It's arrived - can you feel the excitement? The much discussed Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld has surfaced. Apparently they paid the comedian $10m to be in the clip and it's part of a $300m advertising blitz by the company. I suppose it's meant to show the lighter side of Microsoft and their newly retired founder, but is it funny? Well, not really. It's just a bit odd, but not in a way that makes you want to see it again. Judge for youself...
This was supposed to be their answer to Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads; but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who found Apple really smug in that series - after a few viewings I started rooting for Microsoft. It's quite an achievement to make them seem like an underdog so maybe Microsoft should just give Apple some cash to re-run that series rather than shelling out on their own ads.
As for Jerry Seinfeld; he's kind of phoning it in this ad, but he's never been known for his acting skills and they paid him so much you can hardly blame him. If Microsoft really wanted to make a funny advert they could have learned a few things from the trailer for Comedian, the 2002 documentary about Jerry: it's a brilliant parody of the gravelly voiced movie trailer featuring Hal Douglas - the new king of voiceovers now that Don LaFontaine has shuffled on...
Is this ad Bill Gates' way of committing economic and cultural suicide? It's so bizarre, it's hard to know where to begin critiquing it. It begins at a shoe store and ends with Bill Gates shaking his gazillion-dollar butt (a hint that Microsoft may be planning a series of edible computers).
If Microsoft had decided to scrap these ads at the last minute, I'm sure Apple would have gladly paid $300 million to launch them.
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To learn more about the world's richest phony philanthropist and budding mental patient, check out my Bill Gates "knol."
Posted by: David Blomstrom | Saturday, 06 September 2008 at 08:09 AM
They redefined math.
One rich man and one world-class comedian = a big fat zero.
Posted by: Miss C. | Sunday, 07 September 2008 at 04:51 PM
It's not a big fat zero - Jerry's up $10 million, Bill is down $300 million.
Posted by: Conan the Contrarian | Sunday, 07 September 2008 at 07:49 PM