The Seinfeld Ads Spiced Up Bill Gates' Image. Will Future Microsoft Ads Do The Same For Vista?

Posted by: Peter Burrows on September 19

I, like my colleagues Rob Hof and David Kiley, actually like the new Microsoft ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. They humanize the company—and certainly Gates—in a nice way. Microsoft senior veep Bill Veghte says the spots have been hugely successful as a “conversation starter,” drawing 550 unique impressions.

But Microsoft’s ad challenge will get tougher from here. Veghte told my colleague Aaron Ricadela and I this morning that the campaign will get increasingly product-oriented over time. Rather than conceptual teaser ads that hardly mention Microsoft, future spots will focus on products such as Vista, Windows Live and Windows Mobile. These ads will need to convince people that these products are in fact the best, in specific, tangible ways. That’s a much tougher task than going for grins. Here’s what John Gruber at Daring Fireball had to say on this topic, in a post entitled “There’s Nothing There.”

In fact, this is why I found the new “I’m a PC” ads released today somewhat less satisfying than those built around the Jerry and Bill show. While my heart was moved by the populist celebration of some of the people who use PCs, my brain was telling that impressionable heart to get real. The logical foundation for the ads was unconvincing. The problem is that everyone already knows that everyone (or at least 90% of us) already uses a PC. One could argue that the ad might as well have been singing the praises of people who like beef, or basketball. Plenty of accomplished and likeable people consume those products, as well. That’s a bit harsh, since PCs help those in the ads accomplish their tasks, from making jeans to saving polar bears. But the ad doesn’t really succeed in making the link between using PCs and making great or useful things. (For more analysis and some other interesting detail—like the identify of the fake John Hodgeman—read Mary Jo Foley’s thoughts at her All About Microsoft blog.)

Of course, the real test will be whether future ads focused on Vista will have an effect on that operating system’s battered brand reputation. If so, ad agency Crispin, Porter & Bogusky will have earned their $300 million.

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