December 2, 2008 7:51:11 PM CST
(Newser) – A new Microsoft ad is sparking praise and putdowns in roughly equal measure around the Web today. Paul McDougall calls the spot "outdated and not very funny" in InformationWeek, but says it's revealing—of a tech company totally out of touch with Generation Y. The choice of “has-been” Jerry Seinfeld proves that Microsoft is “dominated by middle-aged white guys who made their own millions more than a decade ago."
In Wired, Meghan Keane digs up a Microsoft memo that says the $300 million campaign "will be marked by humor and humanity." "Check on the humanity part, but Microsoft is going to have to work on the humor if it wants to compete with Apple’s popular Mac vs. PC commercials," Keane writes. Other critics are more generous: Gates “plays the whole thing deadpan straight, and he is hilarious,” writes Charlie Sorrel in Wired.
Sources: InformationWeek, Wired, Wired
Sep 18, 08 9:56 AM CDT Microsoft has axed the cryptic Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates ads that left some viewers "scratching their heads," Michelle Quinn writes in the Los Angeles Times. Though a Microsoft spokesman claims it was the plan all along to stop here, the blogosphere is abuzz about Microsoft's "strained effort" to seem "cool and in touch with regular customers" in response to Apple's Mac vs. PC ads. More »
Aug 21, 08 7:29 AM CDT So what's the deal with Microsoft ads? The company has enlisted Jerry Seinfeld to spearhead a new $300-million campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports, to try to shake the negative buzz about Vista, and the nerdy, feckless image projected by John Hodgeman in Apple's popular "Mac vs PC" ads. The campaign, to start next month, will net the funnyman $10 million. More »
Jul 28, 08 1:21 PM CDT It’s still exceedingly tough to get a new 3G iPhone due to limited supply, and myriad technical problems persist in registering and operating the eagerly awaited gadget. Apple has apologized for the lines, and the bugs in its new syncing software, but one analyst tells USA Today that the fallout might soon sour perceptions of the company as a whole. More »
Jun 29, 08 9:50 AM CDT The window on Microsoft’s operating system agility has closed, and to fix it, Randall Stross argues in the New York Times, the tech giant needs to start from scratch. Windows “has become an obese monolith built on an ancient frame,” Stross says, and it “seems to move an inch for every time that Mac OS X or Linux laps it.” More »
Jun 11, 08 12:45 PM CDT Microsoft's strategy of marketing Vista to consumers has turned off its other core constituency, the Wall Street Journal reports: business. Certainly, technical issues and a fat price tag have decimated the number of companies planning to install it: Just 26% of IT departments say they expect to install Vista by 2010, down from 68% last year. More »
Microsoft's decision to launch its highest-profile advertising campaign in years with a spot starring 50-something Jerry Seinfeld alongside its lame-duck chairman reveals a company that is dedicated to marching forthrightly into the future, facing backwards.
Microsoft • Apple • Bill Gates • Microsoft Vista • Jerry Seinfeld • television advertising
