BUZZ NEWS

Mac or PC? Jerry Seinfeld Chooses Windows!

Posted on September 8, 2008
Cédric Puisney

Microsoft has let its feelings show for some time now. It will no longer let Apple, its age-old enemy, make a fool of it with its "Get a Mac" campaign.

Riding on a wave of success following its "Window Mojave" spot this summer (see the Culture-Buzz article), the Redmond based company is at it again. But this time with the help of a big name comedian, none other than Jerry Seinfeld. As you know, he was the star of the hit TV show Seinfeld during the 90s.

So we’ve been on the edge of our seats waiting for this new spot by Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Apple’s old advertising agency). One reason is because Microsoft dished out $300 million for the whole operation, $10 million of which went to Seinfeld.

It wasn’t long before people were talking about it. A lot of the buzz came from the Apple community who shouted cries of sacrilege upon learning that Seinfeld, a former Mac Classic user, was making an appearance.

The spot was released on Friday morning (September 5th). In it, we see Bill Gates and Jerry in a made-up discount shoe store (Shoe Circus). The two true fake old friends exchange a few glances and jokes while munching on churros.

All this leads up to the moment when the issue of computers finally comes up and Seinfeld asks the former CEO if there will ever be a day when computers will be "moist and chewy like cakes so we can just eat them while we’re working." Gate’s response is but a signal. Cut to a word defining the computer of the future, "delicious," and the famous Windows logo.

After the lack of faith in Vista, Microsoft is playing a comical card in an attempt to win back its positive reputation. Moreover, in a company memo, Bill Veghte, Senior VP of Online Services and Windows Business Group, insisted on wanting the company’s advertising to be interesting and to reintroduce Microsoft to the public by demonstrating the product’s potential to consumers. This spot is but the first in a long series.

You might still wonder if seeing Gates wiggle his bottom and show his "Clown Club" member card reassures the target audience. Well, it meant well, but Microsoft seems to have run out of ammo in round one. A good number of bloggers, like Gizmodo, are pretty critical of the ad. In this case, it’s the more details the worse instead of the better. Apple has excelled for some years now with its simple white backdrop and two funny characters. Maybe it should be the simpler the better.