Many episodes of Seinfeld revolved around the four main characters attempting to find each other. There’s no doubt that with cell phones and other modern technology Seinfeld would have been a lot different. Here are ten episodes that would be difficult to pull off with today’s technologies. More »
The NYTimes has an otherwise duhh account of Apple’s recent advertising success, but among the mundanity is this little confirmation: the Seinfeld/Gates ad was among the worst their quoted media expert has ever tested.
Alas, the Abbott and Costello-esque partnership between funny man Jerry Seinfeld and billionaire nerd Bill Gates is now officially over, after Microsoft decided to go with a slightly less ambiguous advertising campaign. In their place is a direct shot at those Apple “I’m a Mac” ads, where a Microsoft engineer resembling John Hodgman’s character greets you, “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”
Remember that first Seinfeld-and-Gates adventure into Shoe Circus, which alluded to something about Windows being “soft and chewy and delicious?” Well, the new Laural and Hardy of ambiguous advertising have a new spot out and it’s… making fun of your average scalloped potato-eating, leather giraffe from Cabo-buying, grumpy Grandma-having Suburban family. The incredibly rich duo try to connect on a “normal people” level and kind of fail utterly. Like Windows Vista. I think.
Confession: I actually very much enjoyed the new Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft ad. Yes, I found it funny and entertaining—the moment when Gates grins like a conspiratorial child revealing that his budget shoes were actual “leather” cracked me up. No, there wasn’t much any substance, but who cares? If nothing else, it’s positive branding and a fun way to kill commercial time otherwise filled with ads for new citrus-scented patio cleaners.
Besides the slick and probably expensive editing designed to make Jerry Seinfeld look like the more awkward of the pair, there’s not a whole lot of special effects in this clip. In fact, there’s not really a whole lot of anything, including laughs, information or pimping of Vista. It’s kinda like Seinfeld’s really long, really rambling Superman ad for Amex he did a few years back. We hope the rest of the campaign is better.
Earlier today we learned that Microsoft is planning a US$300 million advertising campaign starring Jerry Seinfeld in an attempt to counter the success that Apple has had with their PC vs Mac ads. However, according to FBLA, Microsoft may not stop with Seinfeld. Rumour has it that stars like Sarah Silverman, Willie Nelson, Travis Pastrana, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Nader, Rob Corddry, Stephen Colbert and even the late Bernie Mac might also make an appearance. Again, it’s just a rumour, but this approach worked for the Bill Gates retirement video didn’t it? [FBLA via Gawker]
Microsoft is going to start a new US$300 million advertising blitz to try to regain some of the street credibility they have been losing over all these years. The campaign is built around the idea that “Windows breaks down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting.” Sounds like corporate PR-puffing, but there’s a twist: it will star Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld.
