4 ms·

Windows Without Jerry: Microsoft to Can Seinfeld Ads?

19 points by technologizer 18y ago

mechanical_fish 18y ago
Unbelievable.
Timothee 18y ago
> it’s hard to imagine that they paid him $10 million to do two spots I'm not very familiar with prices for ad campaigns but the one number I know from recently is Adam Carolla being payed $350k for a Taco Bell commercial. Seinfeld being much much more famous than Carolla, and this campaign having been seen by everyone, it doesn't sound that much. (in comparison of course)
- bkbleikamp 18y ago
  Agreed. He was getting $1,000,000+ per episode of Seinfeld towards then end + the amount he gets for syndication rights is disgusting. Seeing as how he A) doesn't really need the money and B) probably isn't that interested in Microsoft products, I can see it taking $10,000,000 to get him to show up to shoot the ads.
  - whatusername 18y ago
    It really feels like the campaign is missing the punchline though. I can understand the previous 2 ads to build some buzz, but they need to have some form of finale. I want my moist and cake-like computer - where is it Bill?
netcan 18y ago
Microsoft's marketing team is doing well lately.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  They're getting talked about. That's a big step for them.
  - rrf 18y ago
    But not in the way they wanted, I'm sure. The ads are supposed to inspire consumers to reconnect with the brand, rather than be a couple of slightly amusing odd couple skits.
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      There's no such thing as bad publicity. A more typical ad would have gotten none.
      - unalone 18y ago
        Of course there's such a thing as bad publicity. Bad publicity is something your competitors can take advantage of. It scares people away; it attracts nobody new to your product. It raises round criticism when you spend $300 million for it. Microsoft didn't need a typical ad OR a bad ad. They needed a good campaign. They got a bad one.
        mattmaroon 18y ago
        Microsoft needs to control the conversation once again. They can't do that with ads saying "Vista is awesome". They have to come from left field, and that's what they're doing. It's different, and only time will tell for sure, but I think it's possible that we're witnessing the beginning of a campaign that people will be studying in marketing schools for decades. I'm not sure if it will go down as genius or hubris, but you're definitely wrong in writing them off at this point. The only bad publicity is your obituary.
        yters 18y ago
        "Controlling the conversation," I like that. The ads are way clever, since they connect with the average person in a sitcommy, "yah, but not really," way. It's completely breaking the ad formula all together.
iamdave 18y ago
Will I stop asking endless questions about Windows ads? Why didn't you ask the most important question of all: what the heck were they even talking about in those two spots? (and I STILL don't know how they ended up in that family's house, these commercials are already way too disjointed, it's like middle school where everyone is making fun of you for no real reason, and even so you don't know why)
quadtodfodder 18y ago
This is truly disappointing. I had theorized that in light of the strange and arty ads for the zune and this amusing little romp, all of which seem to have only tangental relationships to the products they purport to be promoting, that Bill Gates had moved into a new area of "philanthropic advertising" where the focus is improving your day first and selling products second, if at all.
tjr 18y ago
Why? I admit that I'm not entirely sure what these commercials are trying to express, but I thought they were both very good. I'm a long time Amiga/Unix/Mac/anything-but-Windows user, and while I'm not running out to buy a Vista-powered computer after seeing these ads, they do an excellent job of portraying Microsoft as not being evil. I find that remarkable.
- BrandonM 18y ago
  They are certainly more sensible than having Serena Williams or Lebron James tell us that they use Vista. Who cares? They also drive luxury vehicles that I will never afford. Just because some celebrity uses a product doesn't mean I should. I agree with you. At least these ads are entertaining and make Microsoft seem less evil. Suddenly ending them will look downright stupid.
  - hugh 18y ago
    I dunno, they don't give me warm fuzzy feelings towards Microsoft. At the most, they give me warm fuzzy feeling towards Bill Gates, but simultaneously reminds me that Bill Gates is no longer in charge of Microsoft -- he's just a doddering old billionaire who in my imagination now spends his whole life wandering around shopping malls and chatting to other semi-retired figures who used to be important back in the 1990s.
mynameishere 18y ago
"Reviews". "Bad reviews" Seriously, how many commercials even get reviews? The first season of Seinfeld had middling audiences. Maybe they should have cancelled it...
chriskelley 18y ago
I think this is a really unfortunate demonstration of companies not trusting the people they hire. Crispin Porter & Bogusky is one of the best agencies in the world, and they have proven it year after year - there's no doubt they know exactly where they are heading with these ads. If Microsoft is truly balking at letting them "do their thing", it's too bad. CP&B knows what they are doing and Microsoft may continue looking cold and stale if they don't let Alex & Co. do what they do best.
- boogs 18y ago
  My (completely uninformed) opinion is that the Seinfeld ads were not CP&B's idea. It seems like something that'd come out of msft marketing. OTOH, what I hear they're doing with the next set of ads -- taking the "I'm a PC" and trying to redefine it -- is 100% CP&B and reminds me of other things they've done recently, such as taking burger king nastiness and making it a manly thing. I wonder if Microsoft rejected CP&B's initial idea and pushed for this Seinfeld thing instead. After it completely tanked, they were persuaded to go back to the original idea.
axod 18y ago
Maybe radical, but maybe ms should first concentrate on releasing some things that don't suck. Then advertise. At the moment what are they even advertising? Vista? The promise that windows 7 won't suck as much as Vista?
raganwald 18y ago
There is absolutely zero credibility in the statement that they only intended Seinfeld to do these two ads. That being said, it is entirely reasonable to assume that they planned to shot a couple of ads, see how they went, and switch to Plan B if they were not achieving what MSFT wanted at this point. That's just good business.

19 points by technologizer 18y ago

Unbelievable.

> it’s hard to imagine that they paid him $10 million to do two spots I'm not very familiar with prices for ad campaigns but the one number I know from recently is Adam Carolla being payed $350k for a Taco Bell commercial. Seinfeld being much much more famous than Carolla, and this campaign having been seen by everyone, it doesn't sound that much. (in comparison of course)

bkbleikamp 18y ago
Agreed. He was getting $1,000,000+ per episode of Seinfeld towards then end + the amount he gets for syndication rights is disgusting. Seeing as how he A) doesn't really need the money and B) probably isn't that interested in Microsoft products, I can see it taking $10,000,000 to get him to show up to shoot the ads.
- whatusername 18y ago
  It really feels like the campaign is missing the punchline though. I can understand the previous 2 ads to build some buzz, but they need to have some form of finale. I want my moist and cake-like computer - where is it Bill?

netcan 18y ago

Microsoft's marketing team is doing well lately.

mattmaroon 18y ago
They're getting talked about. That's a big step for them.
- rrf 18y ago
  But not in the way they wanted, I'm sure. The ads are supposed to inspire consumers to reconnect with the brand, rather than be a couple of slightly amusing odd couple skits.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    There's no such thing as bad publicity. A more typical ad would have gotten none.
    - unalone 18y ago
      Of course there's such a thing as bad publicity. Bad publicity is something your competitors can take advantage of. It scares people away; it attracts nobody new to your product. It raises round criticism when you spend $300 million for it. Microsoft didn't need a typical ad OR a bad ad. They needed a good campaign. They got a bad one.
      - mattmaroon 18y ago
        Microsoft needs to control the conversation once again. They can't do that with ads saying "Vista is awesome". They have to come from left field, and that's what they're doing. It's different, and only time will tell for sure, but I think it's possible that we're witnessing the beginning of a campaign that people will be studying in marketing schools for decades. I'm not sure if it will go down as genius or hubris, but you're definitely wrong in writing them off at this point. The only bad publicity is your obituary.
        yters 18y ago
        "Controlling the conversation," I like that. The ads are way clever, since they connect with the average person in a sitcommy, "yah, but not really," way. It's completely breaking the ad formula all together.

iamdave 18y ago

Will I stop asking endless questions about Windows ads? Why didn't you ask the most important question of all: what the heck were they even talking about in those two spots? (and I STILL don't know how they ended up in that family's house, these commercials are already way too disjointed, it's like middle school where everyone is making fun of you for no real reason, and even so you don't know why)

quadtodfodder 18y ago

This is truly disappointing. I had theorized that in light of the strange and arty ads for the zune and this amusing little romp, all of which seem to have only tangental relationships to the products they purport to be promoting, that Bill Gates had moved into a new area of "philanthropic advertising" where the focus is improving your day first and selling products second, if at all.

tjr 18y ago

Why? I admit that I'm not entirely sure what these commercials are trying to express, but I thought they were both very good. I'm a long time Amiga/Unix/Mac/anything-but-Windows user, and while I'm not running out to buy a Vista-powered computer after seeing these ads, they do an excellent job of portraying Microsoft as not being evil. I find that remarkable.

BrandonM 18y ago
They are certainly more sensible than having Serena Williams or Lebron James tell us that they use Vista. Who cares? They also drive luxury vehicles that I will never afford. Just because some celebrity uses a product doesn't mean I should. I agree with you. At least these ads are entertaining and make Microsoft seem less evil. Suddenly ending them will look downright stupid.
- hugh 18y ago
  I dunno, they don't give me warm fuzzy feelings towards Microsoft. At the most, they give me warm fuzzy feeling towards Bill Gates, but simultaneously reminds me that Bill Gates is no longer in charge of Microsoft -- he's just a doddering old billionaire who in my imagination now spends his whole life wandering around shopping malls and chatting to other semi-retired figures who used to be important back in the 1990s.

mynameishere 18y ago

"Reviews". "Bad reviews" Seriously, how many commercials even get reviews? The first season of Seinfeld had middling audiences. Maybe they should have cancelled it...

chriskelley 18y ago

I think this is a really unfortunate demonstration of companies not trusting the people they hire. Crispin Porter & Bogusky is one of the best agencies in the world, and they have proven it year after year - there's no doubt they know exactly where they are heading with these ads. If Microsoft is truly balking at letting them "do their thing", it's too bad. CP&B knows what they are doing and Microsoft may continue looking cold and stale if they don't let Alex & Co. do what they do best.

boogs 18y ago
My (completely uninformed) opinion is that the Seinfeld ads were not CP&B's idea. It seems like something that'd come out of msft marketing. OTOH, what I hear they're doing with the next set of ads -- taking the "I'm a PC" and trying to redefine it -- is 100% CP&B and reminds me of other things they've done recently, such as taking burger king nastiness and making it a manly thing. I wonder if Microsoft rejected CP&B's initial idea and pushed for this Seinfeld thing instead. After it completely tanked, they were persuaded to go back to the original idea.

axod 18y ago

Maybe radical, but maybe ms should first concentrate on releasing some things that don't suck. Then advertise. At the moment what are they even advertising? Vista? The promise that windows 7 won't suck as much as Vista?

raganwald 18y ago

There is absolutely zero credibility in the statement that they only intended Seinfeld to do these two ads. That being said, it is entirely reasonable to assume that they planned to shot a couple of ads, see how they went, and switch to Plan B if they were not achieving what MSFT wanted at this point. That's just good business.