Microsoft’s New Ad Campaign is a Joke

I finally caught the new Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld. About the best thing I can say is that it’s not a ripoff of anything Apple has done, contrary to what Bill Gates and his henchman do with software.

I know Seinfeld made a fortune with his show about nothing in particular. That’s the sort of the feeling I get from this commercial. It’s 90 tortuous seconds about…nothing in particular. Two well-known but essentially boring guys put into artificially ridiculous situations.

At least Apple manages to interject some product benefits in its Mac vs. PC ads while being entertaining. I know nothing more about Vista — that’s what they are advertising, right? — than I did before I saw the ad.

What’s amazing is that the Microsoft brain trust probably reviewed a dozen concepts from Crispin Porter and Bogusky - the same creative team behind the creepy Burger King commercials - before deciding to sink $300 million into this campaign. Imagine how bad the others might have been.

You know it’s a dud when a Microsoft spokesman had to offer an explanation to the bewildered public about the strategy behind the weird campaign: “This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we’ll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I’ll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows - one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.

Yeah, I can just sense the anticipation as people wait for the next installment.

I’m not the only one panning Microsoft’s effort. It’s pretty much getting blasted all over the Internet. The folks over at Techdirt have compiled some of the best critiques.

Of course, Microsoft is probably happy with the amount of attention the ads are getting, negative or not. But I can’t imagine they sold one more copy of Vista today based on the ad. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

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