Sign of Failure
PC World writes about the Microsoft ad, quoting sources at MS:
Microsoft released a statement today admitting that "some may wonder what Jerry Seinfeld helping Bill Gates pick out a new pair of shoes has to do with software. The answer, in the classic Seinfeld sense of the word, is nothing. Nevertheless, the spot is the first and most visible sign of an ambitious effort by Microsoft's Windows business to reconnect with consumers around the globe." "The new campaign will highlight how Windows has become an indispensible part of the lives of a billion people around the globe -- not only on PCs but also now online and via mobile devices," continued the statement
Here's the thing: The fact that MS has to explain the purpose of the ad demonstrates better than anything else why it's a failure - and why I suspect that the rest of the campaign will fail as well. Sure, people are talking about it - but in the same way that they talk about the bad service they got at a restaurant.
Comments
Terrible Commercial
[Rogers Cadenhead] September 6, 2008 11:58:36.747
I'm amazed that Microsoft thinks that Bill Gates goofing off wirth Jerry Seinfeld helps reengineer the company's image. Seinfeld's a long way removed from his sitcom. Gates looks remarkably older than the last time I saw him. The bit in the shoe store might have been fun for some viral online campaign, but as the start to a massive ad campaign it's pretty obtuse. Chewable computers? Adjust your shorts if I'm right? The Burger King comparison is very fitting. But that campaign jazzed my kids, which may have been the point.