Seinfeld/Bill Gates Commercial

[Bigshot628]

Ok, i don't know how to post youtube videos, so if an admin wants to edit my post to post the video in the thread, they can.
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Anyway, does anybody know what's going on in this commercial? My friends and I have sat around and talked about it and we're just not sure. It's just weird.

[Limnos]

Fixed it for you.

Yeah, I am not sure either.

[atxtraveler]

I got bored halfway through.

[nein51]

I think this is the first of a series of commercials designed to make fun of the Mac commercials. I hope this is the last I see of it because it is horrible.

[nein51]

It is the first commercial of their new 300m dollar ad campaign. It is actually playing pretty well according to some online information. I have to admit to not getting it.

[Bigshot628]

just watched it again for about the 50th time... i've showed my friends, nobody has any clue

[The Banterer]

I find it funny, but it doesn't really compell me to buy more Microsoft products at all. I'm guessing it's intended as more of an image ad, where the hipsters they're going after(people who might be swayed towards Apple) will recognize Seinfeld and either like the ad, or not be willing to admit that they don't.

[Wacoso]

Gates isn't as funny as he thinks?

[HappyRebel]

I thought it pretty much sucked....I have no idea what is going on in the video...

[Chief'sbear]

I think its just Jerry being Jerry. Mouthy know-it-all.

The shoes in the shower part cracked me up.

[LIQRinPU]

Its quirky and hip. Of course I get it.

[Chief'sbear]

I think its just like his show: a commercial about nothing. It has to be the explanation, because it just doesn't make sense. It took people a while to understand the show too.

[LIQRinPU]

People that need explanations wont get it anyway. You can explain it to them but you cant understand it for them.

[atxtraveler]

You have officially fed into exactly what MS was looking for in this ad... people talking about their product again.

Email excerpt from MS VP:

From: Bill Veghte
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 5:37 PM
To: Microsoft - All Employees (QBDG)
Subject: Telling the story of Windows
Since it first launched nearly 25 years ago, Windows has been one of the most successful products in the history of the high tech industry. As we set our sights on the next 25 years, it is essential that we deliver incredible offerings on a great platform. We must also tell the story of how Windows enables a billion people around the globe to do more with their lives today. We must inspire consumers with the promise of what Windows uniquely makes possible across the PC, phone and web.
Telling our story means making significant investments to improve the way consumers experience Windows. To that end, we are focused on making improvements at practically every consumer touch point, from the moment they hear about the Windows brand in our advertising to how they learn more about Windows products online; from how they view Windows and try it at retail to how they use the entire range of Windows offerings – Windows Vista, Windows Mobile and Windows Live – across their whole life.
Today, we are kicking off a highly visible advertising campaign. The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows – a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity. The first in this series of television ads airs initially in the U.S., and it aims to re-ignite consumer excitement about the broader value of Windows. The first television spot aired on NBC during the opening game of the NFL season and will be seen throughout the evening on various primetime programs. Worldwide, you can view this first TV spot at http://msw.
This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we’ll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I’ll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows – one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.
Source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/04/microsoft-ads-first-phase-to-engage-consumers-spark-conversation/

[Chief'sbear]

Is that a Microsoft commercial?

I thought it was for shoes...

[The Banterer]

The best part of the commercial is that the picture on Gate's discount card(or whatever it was) is his mugshot from when he was arrested back in the 80s.

[Chief'sbear]

The best part of the commercial is that the picture on Gate's discount card(or whatever it was) is his mugshot from when he was arrested back in the 80s.

I didn't even notice that.

[HappyRebel]

People that need explanations wont get it anyway. You can explain it to them but you cant understand it for them.


So what your saying is that you didn't understand it either...:001_tt2:

[LIQRinPU]

I am as cool as the other side of your pillow and have no problem understanding the hip culture of today.

[HappyRebel]

I am as cool as the other side of your pillow and have no problem understanding the hip culture of today.

My pillows? :blushing:

[LIQRinPU]

Yes. I mean, I would imagine them to be as cool or cooler than the other side of my pillows. Of course, at this point its pure speculation on my part.

[KellerBear]

The problem with what they are doing is that nobody knows what the commercial is getting at. Microsoft wants to soften up their image and take on the Mac Ads, but the problem is that the Mac ads not only inject humor but also SELL A PRODUCT. It is like those old Infiniti ads that only showed pictures of nature and no damn car.

[BaylorPhillie]

I thought it meant that Microsoft was going to start making cupcakes.

[The Banterer]

I thought it meant that Microsoft was going to start making cupcakes.

The cake is a lie.

[Wacoso]

Just getting your attention for the next software that will shut down your operating system quicker.

[Volunteer]

The commercial is terrible. Gates is as stiff as a sheet of OSB and Seinfeld just rants about a computer you can eat? Not funny. Surely they can do better than this.

Hell, for half whatever they paid I'll write them something 10 times better.

[LIQRinPU]

Like I said................

[HappyRebel]

The commercial still sucks and doesn't make sense...

[LIQRinPU]

And yet its the only commercial with its own thread with people talking about it.

[HappyRebel]

I didn't say it wasn't effective...just stupid....people always talk about stupid things...

[Bexar Fan]

I didn't say it wasn't effective...just stupid....people always talk about stupid things...
OK....be honest.....sometimes that commercial would feel right at home here. :D

[HappyRebel]

:001_tongue:LOL...yep...stupid can be fun.....:001_tongue:

[NewsBruin]

It's not bad. They have chemistry, but it's all about setting folks up for whatever their next series of commercials will be.

I have to be in a real tolerant mood to like Seinfeld. Otherwise I find his delivery a huge turnoff. The commercial doesn't advertise anything more than than the promise of more Seinfeldiness to come.

[Wacoso]

The end does advertise that Microsoft is building something so out of this world that we can't live without it, but we can't have it yet, not until they're ready to give it to us, cause we need it.

[deltbear]

I actually like it, a lot. It's long but whatever..

[DONNIE D]

I thought it was cool, but I like Jerry.

[KellerBear]

They've been cancelled...

http://valleywag.com/5051455/microsoft-to-announce-jerry-seinfeld-ads-cancelled-tomorrow

[KellerBear]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/media/18adco.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

and they are going on the "defensive".