Apple has the Mac guy and the PC guy. Now Microsoft has Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld.
A new ad, apparently meant to promote Microsoft’s Windows operating system franchise, features Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and one of the world’s richest men, trying on shoes in a faux shoe store with Seinfeld, the comedian best known for his eponymous TV show.
In trademark Seinfeld style, the two banter mostly about nothing (or nothing that makes much sense anyway), share a meaningful look about the word "leather" and barely mention the product the company is seeking to promote. The 90-second spot -- the first volley what is promised to be a broad and pricey campaign -- ends with Gates wiggling his behind as the two walk through a mall parking lot.
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| Microsoft Corp. (Click image to watch) |
There’s been a lot of buzz about how the commercial is odd, confusing and difficult to follow. All that is true, but those concerns pale in comparison to the major problem with the ad -- it’s boring.
Gates, who recently stepped down from day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft, may have great wealth in common with Seinfeld, but that doesn’t mean the two of them have much natural rapport. As for Seinfeld, there’s no question he’s a comic genius, but you wouldn’t know that from this commercial’s musings about things like when computers might taste like cake.
It would be one thing if those musings were quirky and funny, but they’re not. That’s surprising because Seinfeld proved to be a pretty good pitchman, doing a pretty similar shtick, years ago for American Express.
Rather than getting our attention and making us wonder what those wacky Microsoft advertising folks might think of next, we found our mind wandering to other questions like, "When will this commercial end?"
The ad falls especially flat when compared to the obvious thorn in Microsoft’s side -- rival Apple’s widely successful series of spots that have poked fun at Microsoft’s staid image.
The "I’m a Mac/I’m a PC" ads work because they are quick, funny and, most important, they entertain us while actually promoting the product in question.
Microsoft’s ad, by contrast, doesn’t lay out any clear advertising strategy. Rather than taking on Apple’s franchise, it risks reinforcing the very things that Apple makes fun of Microsoft for.
Click here to watch the ad.
