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What did you think of Microsoft Ads before and after Seinfeld & Gates?

  • Loved it

    Votes: 12 21.8%
  • Okay

    Votes: 16 29.1%
  • Hated it

    Votes: 20 36.4%
  • Don't Know

    Votes: 7 12.7%

What did you think of Microsoft Ads before and after Seinfeld & Gates?

6K views 37 replies 21 participants last post by  stampeder 
#1 ·
On Sept. 4, Microsoft Corp. launched the largest consumer marketing campaign in the history of the company, focused on the broad potential of Windows across PCs, the Web and mobile devices. The campaign is part of a larger effort to connect people with the power and potential that Windows brings to everyday life.
I saw this ad on the Football game last night.

Part was pretty amusing but the ending was dumb and it gave me no reasons for wanting to chose MS.

See the ad here
 
#4 ·
I just watched it again and the first 60 to 70 seconds is really amusing and novel but the last 20 to 30 seconds dies and leaves you with nothing.

Apple ads (the comparison is inevitable) are amusing and quirky, but at the end of each ad, its clear, you want to buy apple.
 
#5 ·
Without exaggeration, it's one of the worst commercials I've ever seen (and I LOVE Seinfeld's comedy). The comedy seemed forced, Bill looked like he'd rather be anywhere but on camera, and it didn't spark my interest in the "product" at all.
 
#8 ·
Robobob is right on the mark...that was indeed the intention from what I've read.

But this "nothing" goes so far beyond "nothing"! Yes, some parts are funny, but mostly, I just sat there puzzled and wondering where it was going. Only when it was over did I get my answer....it was going nowhere!
 
#10 ·
I could care less what the message is. From a strictly entertainment standpoint I really liked it. I'm a huge Seinfeld fan (like so many other people here and everywhere) so he can practically do no wrong in my book and I thought Bill Gates was great; extremely deadpan. I give it a thumbs up. In my opinion, to compare this to an Apple commercial is simply a lackluster observation. It's like comparing Apples to oranges....
 
#18 ·
I didn't think Seinfeld could get lower than Bee Movie, but he has. He needs to come up with something funny, fast. And Bill Gates needs to come up with something to sell before he comes up with a commercials. It's like those new Bell commercials which are just selling the same old, same old.
 
#21 ·
Why is this latest commercial 4:30mins long? Do these ads air on TV, or are they strictly meant for internet viewing? And I agree with asif9t9...what product are they selling? You can't just ramble on for 4:30mins and stick a M$ logo at the end of it and expect to increase sales. Maybe it will work on the average M$ consumer, but this ad campaign is doing squat for this Mac guy :rolleyes:
 
#23 ·
As far as commercials go, I find these fun to watch. I'm not expecting to go out and buy anything. And although they are not really funny it is still interesting to see Bill Gates acting like a normal person (kinda). Jerry doesn't have to do much of anything to be funny. He just is.

Microsoft, as far as I'm concerned, has never been a leader in moving us forward. They have done an ok job of taking other's ideas (windows from Xerox Parc/Apple, browsers from netscape, etc. excel from visicalc, and the list goes on and on). They have not innovated in very much. Bill Gates, the brains behind Microsoft, didn't even understand the power of the internet. Way back, he wanted to create his own and thought everyone would live within his world. He completely missed the power of the internet and didn't invest in a browser until the whole world was using Netscape or equivalent.

Microsoft - ho hum.
 
#24 ·
Okay, I have no idea what they are trying to accomplish but I did find it to be an amusing 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Frankly, I think they are wasting their money
 
#25 ·
No matter how things end up with this series of ads I think marketing students are going to be studying this project into the future... what a strange start!

I thought the slogan was supposed to be something like "Computing without walls" or something like that. So far no hint of it.

Incidentally if the slogan actually involves life without "walls" then that logically means life without "Windows", which exist in walls or other things that need walls. :D
 
#26 ·
For those who haven't caught on, these first (of many) commercials are only to introduce the characters and to "revive" Microsoft's image. They don't advertise much on TV (when's the last time you saw a Microsoft advert?), so they're trying to get people to recognize the brand again, so to speak.

That being said, there are some "under the breath" hints throughout the commercials.

For example, in the second commercial, when the wife goes up to Jerry and says she has $1800 that her husband doesn't know about, Jerry says he doesn't want to get in the way of money and just wants to live with them. That's a hint that PC's are an affordable option.
 
#28 ·
Your analysis is a bit more detailed than what most of the posters are indicating here, but that's fine. Are you in marketing?
Nah, but I always keep a foot in the realm of Microsoft and I'm always up on the news. I do tend to be critical of advertisements though.

It's just that several people are still saying that the commercial was stupid, that it had no point, or made no sense, or that they want 4:30 of their life back, etc. Thing is, there is no point just yet. In the great words of George Costanza, it's a commercial about nothing.
 
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