Gates-Seinfeld 2.0: longer, pointless, uncut

If Microsoft devotes the same kind of creativity to Windows 7 that does to its Gates-Seinfeld ads, we can expect a return to the days of DOS, 640K memory limits, and Blue Screens of Death.

The latest ad, which you can see toward the bottom of this blog post, weighs in at a hefty four-and-a-half minutes. It's marginally funnier than the first ad, but then again, watching paint dry is marginally funnier than the first ad as well.

If you don't get the point of these ads, you're not alone. And Microsoft's explanation of their purpose makes me think that they don't understand the purpose of their own ads, either. Here's what Microsoft's Chris Flores has to say about the underlying purpose of the ad campaign on the Windows Vista Blog:

Simply put, this campaign isn't about Windows Vista. It's about Windows.

You could have fooled me. I see ping-pong being played, cuticles being cut, and a grandmother heading the wrong way under a car to fix it. But I don't see anything at all about Windows.

Flores then goes on to quote Oscar Wilde about the importance of being noticed:

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."

That may be true for a struggling young company trying to get noticed. But it's not true at all for one of the largest corporations in the world with a near monopoly trying to fend off surging competitors. When you're that big company with a ubiquitous market presence, you need a message. You're already being noticed. You want to be noticed for the right reasons.

I think that despite Vista's problems, Microsoft has a solid story to tell about it. And Internet Explorer 8 breaks some new ground for browsers. But an ad campaign that's about nothing -- and isn't even entertaining -- doesn't help Microsoft to make the case for either.

Like this blog? Subscribe to the RSS feed!

Thoughts about the Gates-Seinfeld ads

Preston Gralla:
• Gates-Seinfeld 2.0: longer, pointless, uncut
• Is Microsoft's Seinfeld spot the worst TV ad ever?

John Brandon:

• The other shoe drops: second Microsoft ad is about connecting
• The brilliance of shoes: What the new Microsoft ad really means

IT Blogwatch:

• EXTRA: Seinfeld spots vs. Apple ads

Eric Lai:

• Before Seinfeld and Microsoft, other celebrity computer commercials

Seth Weintraub:

• Ten reasons why the Seinfeld-Microsoft partnership doesn't work