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Preston Gralla

Seeing Through Windows

Family Guy-Windows 7 sneak peek: No, it's not funny

Next month, Microsoft is sponsoring a Family Guy television special in which instead of traditional advertising, pitches for Windows 7 will be woven directly into the show itself. I've seen a short preview, and it commits the worst cardinal sin of comedy: It's just not funny. I've got the preview in my blog.

The special, titled "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," will air on November 8, and will feature Seth MacFarlane and his "Family Guy" co-star Alex Borstein. The half-hour show will run without traditional commercials. Instead, pitches for Windows 7 will be embedded directly in the show itself.

As for what the show is, here's what Microsoft's press release says about it:

The half-hour special will highlight the comedy duo's subversive and unique humor with original animation, live-action performances of "Family Guy’s" most memorable musical numbers, comedy sketches and surprise celebrity guests.

I can't vouch for most of the show, but based on a brief trailer of how Windows 7 will be woven into the show itself, I can tell you this: It's not even remotely close to being funny. In the trailer, there's a little bit of blather about Windows 7 features such as Aero Shake, Windows Media Player, and gadgets, and the "user-friendly interface," and then Stewie brags, "I am twittering. Check it out." That's it --- that's the punch line. You can see the preview, below.


 

Keep in mind that trailers generally present the highlights of any movie or TV show. So that means that the video above is as funny as it gets. I don't know about you, but I don't plan to be tuning in on November 8.

Update: After seeing a taping of the show, Microsoft canceled its sponsorship, saying "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand." (It must have been the jokes about feminine hygiene and incest.) For details, see my blog post, "Microsoft's Family Guy cancellation: Windows 7, yes; incest and deaf people, no."

What People Are Saying

i beg to differe

that is actually very funny, unless you are a retard and/or a mac fan boy.

HAHAHAHa

I have to agree, Mac has it's gigs with those Mac commercials. Windows has it's. I've been running Windows 7 for about a month now and, so far, I've loved it, and putting it in a Family Guy episode, it an awesome idea.

What the actual joke was in the clip

The main gag in this clip is Brian mimicing the way Stewie was teasing him about working on a novel in an earlier episode. He kept asking questions like, "Got a protaganist?" "Has to overcome an obstacle", etc all the while making his voice rise higher and higher.

It's not very funny and really does not work as much of the humour in "Family Guy" uses a longer pace for most jokes.

I'm surprised they did not try to do a tangent reference to something completely unrelated as per the norm, (part of what allows for repeated watching of the series as one can not remember which episode a specific reference joke occured).

But is it funny? Nope.

Maybe they just should have had a shot of Peter sitting at the computer, farting.

truth in advertising

"That only works when I do it"

So unless I'm an animated infant genius with a head shaped like a lemon, I won't be able to do anything?

That is funny.

Bet this doesn't

make the RE Run circuit. But, seriously, where's the Dancing Monkey Boy?

This proves Microsoft doesn't know how

to make people love their products, to make us really but really want them. There's no point in spending the whole night standing in line just to be the first to get his hands on a fresh copy of Windows [insert whatever version here] because you'll get it anyway.
There can be only one reason in my opinion. Microsoft OS it's like the belly button, you don't have to do anything to get one (actually it's more difficult no to have one, or to get rid of the one you already have).
The commercials they are trying are lame because unless other manufacturers they don't have to chase after their customers, or to beg them to buy their products. A commercial spot for Windows offers the same thrill as a commercial for the bus line you take everyday to go to work.

After the hillarious

After the hillarious Seinfeld commercials this really puts the "om" back into comedy!

Serious, Microsoft's commercials are just....well, this is a public forum. Calling them "lame" is way too kind. If I had Microsoft stocks I'd sell them right now. The company is wasting money on garbage like that? What's next? Hire QA specialists who find bugs in Windows? Hire capable developers who go ahead and fix all these bugs?

Maybe they should hire the Rolling Stones again, then at least the artist's age is equal to the age of Microsoft's concepts.

I think it's hilarious that

I think it's hilarious that people will even get upset over an operating system, or the commercials for an operating system. Now that's funny. Wait, no it's not. It's just sad. I really wish my searches for the Motorola Droid hadn't let me to this page in a roundabout kind of way. Seth McFarlane was never that funny in the first place.

Family Guy is a Hugely Poor Choice as Partner

The Family Guy series contains the most obnoxious content of nearly all television programming currently available. I cannot believe that Microsoft would risk to tarnish what little reputation they have left to partner with that level of filth. Apparently the Microsoft management isn't aware of the series' normal content, which is completely unfit for anyone under adult age, or they would have fired the guys suggesting to do this.

Family guy windows 7 comercial

I didnt see any links or clips on this page so i went to youtube and if it was real it was pretty good not funny but pretty good.