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Second Gates & Seinfeld Ad debuts

On Thursday, Microsoft debuted the second advertisement in its recently launched marketing campaign to improve the public perception of Windows Vista. The first advertisement was met with mixed reactions. Some people noted the comedic qualities and loved it while others failed to see the humor and thought it made no sense. This second ad places Gates and Seinfeld in a house with a semi-dysfunctional family (whose family would be normal if you had those two as house guests?). It remains to be seen whether this marketing campaign will achieve it’s goal of rejuvenating the image of Windows but one thing is for sure: It has us talking and thinking about Microsoft again, especially in the wake of some recent Apple announcements. Pretty clever Microsoft, pretty clever.

Note: The version above is the full 4:30 version, not the clipped version that is currently running on TV.

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35 comment(s) for this post.

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  1. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 9:47 am, Nicholas Said:

    Ugh. If this is supposed to be a counter to the Apple/Mac ads (which have GOOD humor AND relevant points), then MS deserves to be scolded like the whiny kids they are. “Whaa!!! I am loosing market share to Apple!!! Whaaa!!!” I have a PC at work and at home—but lord I am definitely thinking about a Mac for my first laptop purchase…

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  2. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 9:52 am, Ant$ Said:

    this makes me wanna get an MacBook Pro…

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  3. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 9:55 am, Jim Said:

    Best commercial ever!

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  4. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 9:58 am, Dtest54 Said:

    I thought this was funny but not in a advertising sort of way. It has zero to do with MS, more of a parody of the Simple Life. Maybe Bill wants to get a sitcom going?

    Also this publicity is just what they planned.

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  5. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:01 am, likeabite Said:

    This commercial is mad funny! And losing marketshare? Yea like Apple has any chance of overtaking Microsoft. Let them stick to their iPods people. The iPhone doesnt even count seeing as how the mobile world is already dominated by Blackberries, Windows Mobile Phones and Palms…stick to music guys…music.

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  6. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:17 am, Peter Said:

    I laughed a lot… Bill could use a few acting lessons but he’s improving! I’d love to see a sitcom where it was those two interacting with a different “real family” each week

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  7. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:30 am, JIMBO Said:

    Actually pretty damn funny. I wish Seinfeld was back on with new episodes…

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  8. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:42 am, Esquire0399 Said:

    I must say this is definitely A LOT better (still not all THAT great) than the first one, but I just can’t shake the feeling that Microsoft is trying too hard to “rejuvenate its image”. These commercials feel more like previews of an upcoming sitcom than commercials for a computer company.

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  9. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:43 am, keymaker Said:

    Dude you said the mobile world is already dominated by Blackberries, Windows Mobile Phones and Palms???? Are you serious???? Sure the black berry has a really good market share, but last time i check Palm was almost bankrupt and windows mobile has been dead for years, the iphone has a great change in the mobile market

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  10. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 10:47 am, keymaker Said:

    These 2 Morons now make me switch channels everytime this crap comes on, Dude WTF is wrong with these 2

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  11. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:05 am, Perspective Said:

    It has US talking about MS again, because we are tech geeks. The average consumer? Not so much. Seriously, does anyone really believe thatthose Apple fans are leading the charge for OS X adoption? I’m betting that the retail stores and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth are the driving factors. Earth to MS: code a better OS, and people will buy it. “Well done” beats “well said” any day.

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  12. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:18 am, Carmine Said:

    I agree with the masses here as the video is funny but irrelevant. The problem is that this does not seem to be an answer to the “get a mac” ads, nor does it help promote vista, which is what Microsoft needs to do desperately. I’m an independent “geek squad” if you will and every one I work for is so afraid of Vista. It’s all based on what they heard and not what they saw. I have to say that I can’t argue with them. It’s buggy, sluggish, and mine FREEZES when entering screen saver! How is that even possible? Anyway, they should be using that $300M to develop a brand-new operating system from the ground up! They, unfortunately, have tarnished the Windows name and should consider coming up with a new name for their new operating system. The fact of the matter is that there are too many crappy machines trying to run Vista. Vista support should be limited to computers with at least two processing cores, 2GB of memory, and 64bit Computing only!

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  13. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:37 am, James Said:

    I am more confused after watching the second one.

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  14. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:38 am, Andrew Said:

    Not half as good as the first one.. I chuckled a little.

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  15. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:45 am, Galvatron Said:

    weel if it’s your screen saver it’s your video drivers

    lol vista 32 can oly see 3 gigs max 4 an up is 64bit territory> sotre word of mouth? It’s called Worst Buy for a reason. Winmo ain’t defunct.

    the kid playing the unreased gam with bill was funny. that would hav been the oly realitve momet when they could say somthing like it only runs on vista.

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  16. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:46 am, illa Said:

    does it make you want to learn proper grammar?

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  17. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:55 am, Tom Said:

    Two words: STUPID

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  18. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 12:10 pm, afstech Said:

    @Carmine

    These first ads are not targeted to directly promote Vista. The first few ads are just icebreakers. I’m just glad they didn’t stoop to Apple’s level and attack with misinformation. And where do you get buggy and sluggish? Vista is actually more stable and on par if not faster (not in everything) than XP. You do know they are working on a none Windows OS from the ground up called Midori. They should of never had Vista Basic in my opinion. I am going to bet that Windows 7 is going to change the perception of Windows. I just can’t wait to see the next ad.

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  19. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 12:13 pm, Michael D Mays Said:

    People have never stopped talking about Microsoft. This ad only diverts the attention from the problems Microsoft is having with Vista. So this being the case, it is a successful ad.

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  20. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 2:28 pm, James Legg Said:

    I run a Mac Laptop and work all day with Solaris and Linux. I havn’t worked with or run windows in a couple of years - but these adverts make me smile and even feel a little bit sorry for the poor mistreaded Windows OS (yes I know it has 90% market share) Ahhh poor windows vista - would you like a cookie?

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  21. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 2:32 pm, Esquire0399 Said:

    Would you mind doing that post over again with some actual words and at least some kind of sentence structure? I haven’t the slightest clue what you just said.

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  22. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 2:38 pm, Greg Said:

    So…what was the message? Funny but I have no idea how it promotes MS.

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  23. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 2:39 pm, RockTripod Said:

    I really don’t understand the hatred Vista brings out in people. I know there were serious problems for people upgrading from XP. I, for one, never upgrade the OS. New OS, new PC. I’ve dabbled in Ubuntu, even downgraded to XP. I went back to Vista. Works great on my Acer laptop! And seriously Galv, do you have some kind of palsy? I’m writing this on a Curve and I’m pretty sure I’ve spelt everything correctly.

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  24. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 4:20 pm, Psy Said:

    Hatred of vista is this in a nutshell:\

    Same machine: XP SP3 runs TWICE as fast.
    Same machine: XP SP3 w/vista addons: Still %50 faster than Vista.

    Why buy a machine and cripple it with the OS. I buy for power, not useless graphics that make my screen look “pretty”. Video games need to look pretty, not my desktop. Vista robs machine potential, and offers nothing in return.

    Also, I’m not sure if I understand Galvatron’s post, but the OS not the only reason only 3.25GB of memory can be seen. The processor is the first part, if you only have a 32 bit processor, you can only access 3.25GB of memory. Unless I am mistaken on how many addresses 32 bit processors can access.

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  25. On Sep 12, 2008 @ 4:56 pm, love for tech Said:

    I watched this video on my Macbook Pro, and I thought it was pretty cool, kind of funny but over all just enjoyable.
    I don’t know if it makes me thing of Windows again… I don’t want to get to deep into my computer history, but I have been a Windows User for the longest (since 3.1). I have a MSCE in 2003, done IT back in the early part of this decade. The only reason I looked out side of my Microsoft box was because of Vista, the different versions of it and the prices.
    I installed Linux on my desktop at home, and I was given a Powerbook G4 at the job to play with. After that point I was on a quest to do more of my computing on something “Unix-like.”
    I bought myself a brand new Macbook Pro last month, it put me in the hole money wise, but I love it. I had Vista Ult on it (bootcamp), after using it for a few days, I formarted it, and slapped XP Pro. Which I only use for Visio, and a few small windows only applications. VMWARE baby, got to love it!!!

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