???

Microsoft to cancel Jerry Seinfeld ads (tip o’ the antlers to Daring Fireball).

No, seriously.

???

Can anyone explain ???

OK, the Macalope didn’t really get the ads. He chuckled a little bit at them and admired Gates’ willingness to make an ass out of himself. But as the horny one said in an upcoming interview, these were image ads and was image really Microsoft’s problem? Most of Vista’s problem has been the difficult upgrade choices it forces users to make. And the brown and furry one doesn’t know if you’ve read the papers lately, but it’s not exactly an ideal time for corporate customers to have to take on an expensive conversion from XP to Vista.

It’s a darn shame, though. Seinfeld really needed the work.

Gates, too, come to think of it.

UPDATE: ???????????? (antler tip to John Gruber, but on Twitter this time).

Here’s the money quote:

The campaign illustrates “a strong desire” among Microsoft managers “to take back that narrative,” Mr. Webster said…

That’s not taking back the narrative. That’s conceding it.

15 thoughts on “???”

  1. Obviously they’re completely flummoxed as to how to advertise right now

    1. “Mohave”
    2. Seinfeld WTF
    3. No: I’M A PC!!!

    Maybe they’ll try to make a go out of this one. Easier to film these guys in batches after all, as shown by Apple. But you have to wonder what they’ll try next.

    How about a shill-a-thon featuring Enderle, Dvorak, etc. spewing suitably intense TV style FUD to the soundtrack of something “Country First” ending with “Microsoft will be there for you and there for America. Don’t let terror win.”

    That would be marvellous! I wonder if Karl Rove is available to coordinate the campaign.

  2. It’s a shame to see Microsoft like this. They’re as nervous as a bird with a broken wing in a fenced yard full of cats.

    Okay, it’s funny enough to be not much of a shame.

  3. The sad thing is that Microsoft has been shedding their clueful employees ever since the stock went flat. The people left actually believe that advertising will solve their problems.

    -jcr

  4. The ol’ attic must have needed some cleanin’ oh Horny One, good to see an entry (hmmm) at last.

    Here is an ad campaign for M$.

    No Country For Old Enemies
    Bill Gates can run around the US of A with a cattlegun taking out former “Think Different” and “Switch” celebrities whilst hunting down “I’m A Mac” guy who is in posession of the ultimate Ad campaign.

    Thats what I call taking back the narrative!

  5. The problem MS is having is that they’re scared clueless. They keep jumping from thing to thing, because, let’s be honest, it’s been 2 years since Vista launched and it has yet to reach any meaningful altitude. Win XP is now being sold on netbooks and any new Win XP install is being counted as a Vista install. Again, though, let’s be honest, the fine folks in Redmond know how many installs of Vista still exist; I’m sure they can get those numbers whenever XP or Vista phones home. I would bet the last dollars I have to my name that new XP installs outnumber new Vista installs and Redmond knows it.

    They should have stuck with the Seinfeld ads. They really were brilliant, they just needed some more time to fully flesh out the narrative. If MS is going to jump around like an angry monkey in a cage regarding their advertising, how are they going to react when they’re next product launches and takes a nose dive? What happened to the MS of old, the one that stayed the course until they won the race? I believe that this is the point in history when MS becomes IBM.

  6. Vista’s shortcomings aside, this third attempt is WAY better than the “Mohave” and Seinfeld rout. The first felt like special pleading and the second reinforced MS’s disconnect with normal humans. Someone finally had the sense to take their shovel away.

  7. When I watched “Mohave” the first feeling I had from the ad was Microsoft implying “are you guys stupid, this IS Vista. Get with it!” Not sure thats how to reach potential customers. The Seinfeld ones, well what more can be said about those that haven’t been said already. Confusing, pointless, funny and just plain dumb. I’m a PC…I’ve yet to see the actual ad so I’ll leave impressions till I see it.

  8. The Macalope has become an elusive creature of late, but not nearly as elusive as the narrative thread in the MS marketing campaign.

Leave a Reply to John C. Randolph Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.