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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Geek World Rants, Raves Over Microsoft Ad

Some find Seinfeld/ Gates routine unfunny; others, 'hilarious'

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(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 Paul McDougall calls the spot "outdated and not very funny" in InformationWeek, but says it's revealing—of a tech company totally out of touch with Generation Y.  The choice of “has-been” Jerry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.

Jerry Seinfeld.
Jerry Seinfeld.   (AP Photo)
Is Bill Gates out of touch?
Is Bill Gates out of touch?   (AP Photo)
Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfield in the new Microsoft TV ad.
Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfield in the new Microsoft TV ad.   (hewvideo)
Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates deadpan their way through a new Microsoft ad.
Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates deadpan their way through a new Microsoft ad.   (YouTube)
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Microsoft's TV advertisement featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates.   (PalluxoMediaOnline)

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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.

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