Seinfeld and Gates get all moist and chewy
Most pundits seem to dislike Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first Microsoft commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. But to debate its specific merit or lack thereof misses the point. To crib a theme from blogger and Adweek columnist Joe Jaffe, the brand has opened a conversation with consumers. The campaign has been as widely anticipated as Super Bowl advertising. And the spot itself shows that a give and take is possible. It's goofy and non-threatening and makes Gates's software behemoth appear approachable, even likeable. That alone is a big victory. Consider: Would Steve Jobs ever adjust his underwear in a commercial? Would he have paid staffers to do it for him? Just yesterday, that was the kind of quip I'd level at Gates. Today, however, Apple and its beloved (but suddenly a bit antiseptic-looking) series with Mac and PC seem aloof and even smug compared to Bill and Jerry kibitzing at the mall. Maybe Jobs should get on his iPhone and get reinforcements. What's Michael Richards doing these days? —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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September 5, 2008 in Crispin Porter, Gianatasio, Microsoft, TV | Permalink |
Comments
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David,
It is nice to see that you can find the good in anything, that is an important editorial trait. :-)
As for the spot, I didn't really expect too much and thus I wasn't disappointed.
Is that a good thing?
Posted by: Herbert | Sep 5, 2008 8:04:02 AM
Simple: Yes
Unexpected: Most definitely
Credible: Yes
Concrete: Not exactly
Emotional: Subjective, but I'd hazard a yes
Story: Yes
And what've you got? (That's right, a copy of "Made to Stick")
Posted by: Mike | Sep 5, 2008 8:05:38 AM
David, your tortured attempt to find something good to say about that embarrassing waste of celluloid would leave even the professional spin-meisters of the Bush Administration shaking their heads in wonder.
You say that "the brand has opened a conversation with consumers." Maybe so, but, based on the feedback so far, it seems to be all negative. Is that what Microsoft really wants for its $300 million?
It doesn't make Microsoft seem "approachable" and "likable." It makes them seem out of touch and clueless. Although I will say that Bill Gates came off far better than Jerry Seinfeld. What the hell happened to him? Didn't he used to be funny?
Those "antiseptic-looking" and "smug" Apple ads -- which this commercial is clearly trying, but failing, to emulate -- are far more amusing and engaging.
To be fair, this is only the kick-off to the campaign. Given the level of talent involved, odds are subsequent efforts will be a vast improvement. For Microsoft's sake, I can only hope so.
Posted by: Fred Yarvin, Male Prostitute | Sep 5, 2008 9:34:59 AM
Truth is, if any other agency had come up with this same exact ad, this editorial would've been completely different.
It seems that we must love and understand every single thing that comes out of CP+B for some odd reason...
Posted by: Marcelo | Sep 5, 2008 9:52:47 AM
if it started a conversation, it's one with the woman who just rambles with no purpose and only a half-attempt at humor.
man, if you get Seinfield, you could do better with the script and directing. what a wasted opportunity.
Posted by: ethel merman | Sep 5, 2008 9:53:02 AM
It's an ad about nothing.
Posted by: Bogusky's Feathered Pubes | Sep 5, 2008 10:40:18 AM
An expensive turd.
It would be a victory for Bill if he still worked at his company.
Better than seeing Balmer I suppose...
Nice shoe ad.
Posted by: Alex | Sep 5, 2008 11:33:31 AM
Where can I buy a pair of Conquistadors?
Posted by: richsiegel | Sep 5, 2008 12:55:59 PM
It's a pathetic ad and does nothing for the Microsoft brand. If any other agency had done this, ADfreak would have torn it to pieces...
Pathetic, this confirms that i should sell my stupid wondow based PC at home and get my MAC set up.
Opens up discussions? Yea about how stupid it is.
Posted by: Brian | Sep 5, 2008 1:04:54 PM
Perhaps I've noted this before, but why pair two things that hit the peak of their popularity in the mid-nineties? Is this some sort of algebraic approach to advertising? Two olds make a new?
Posted by: Jerk | Sep 5, 2008 3:32:01 PM
I agree with Mike on this one. The commercial is eye-catching, par-for-the-course-Seinfeld funny, human and filled with useful although transparent metaphors.
Microsoft's two main marketing problems can't possibly be fixed by CP+B: Vista borderline sucks and MS Office 2007 is just an insult to IT professionals and consumers.
Posted by: Jeremy Greenfield | Sep 5, 2008 4:35:08 PM
Seems like this ad is trying to make Bill Gates a likeable everyday guy. I want to believe Bill Gates shops in the mall at "Shoe Circus", but unfortunately I know he lives in a cavernous Washington mansion and shoe salesmen probably come to him.
Another Crispin ad with the intention of showing off what kind of ridiculous, expensive, over-bloated, shiny turd they can get their "conservative" client to buy. I suspect these spots will test horribly and Crispin and Microsoft will go their separate ways before '09, just like they did with their Nike. Meanwhile some other agency will do work for Microsoft that's actually campaignable over a significant length time, and still costs half the price.
Way to go Crispin. Keep burning through those marquee clients with your grandiose one-off ads.
Posted by: travis | Sep 5, 2008 4:59:30 PM
But that's absolutely the joke: Bill Gates ISN'T an everyday guy, and everybody knows it. Here, he's goofy and almost self-deprecating. It's kind of cute.
Still, I doubt anyone will be swapping out her MacBook and iPod for the Microsoft version. At least, this girl won't.
Posted by: sleeping in my party dress | Sep 5, 2008 5:09:43 PM
That was really really really really bad. Really bad. Anyone who doesn't know Bill Gates is actually a good guy (Bill and Linda Gates Foundation anyone?) has been living in a hole since the 90s. It will do nothing to change the opinions of the common consumer because everyone already like Jerry... people could over all give a rat about Bill... so really it was just a really really bad ad for vista without any thought behind it. Of course, ad people can talk about the merits of this commercial because it comes from CP+B. The common consumer will still hate Vista.
Posted by: | Sep 5, 2008 6:38:52 PM
I was SO looking forward to the AdFreak take on this ad. Boy am I disappointed. This spot is an embarrassment. It's not aligned with the Microsoft brand in the least (besides, Jerry's personality is much more Mac-like); Gates no longer works there; the premise is convoluted; the jokes are lame; I learned nothing new or different about the product. I agree with many of the posters here that, as an industry, we tend to give CP+B a pass when they produce crap. This is crap.
Posted by: Mickey Dee | Sep 5, 2008 7:35:39 PM
There will never be a more overrated agency. Ever.
Posted by: Dobbsy | Sep 5, 2008 8:35:24 PM
Maybe I'm late or slow, but Jerry is a metaphor for Vista for Gates (Microsoft). Or maybe this is much ado about nothing.
Posted by: | Sep 5, 2008 10:55:50 PM
People like Dobbsy just don't get it. It's sad. In fact, I hope this is merely a personal thing, like Dobbsy having been rejected from a job there. Because this is a teaser. Nothing more. And frankly, it succeeds in exactly what it is supposed to. BEGIN THE CONVERSATION. This is one spot that is starting up a major, major comapaign. It's lighthearted, and about nothing, much like Seinfeld. Look at Adcritic - no CW listed. Jerry largely wrote this. So go criticize Jerry for his writing. But Crispin is just starting out. Stop freaking out people.
Posted by: Chris | Sep 5, 2008 11:26:12 PM
I wonder how many average consumer viewing this commercial didn't get it was for Microsoft? I thought it might be for American Express.
Posted by: CParis | Sep 7, 2008 12:05:54 PM
Chris, I agree that Dobbsy's dismissing Crispin as the most "overrated agency. . . ever" is way off the mark. But that doesn't negate the criticisms of the commercial itself -- most of which are valid.
Yes, it's just a teaser. But it's still sloppy, self-indulgent, painfully unfunny and, for many, downright confusing.
You say "it succeeds in exactly what it is supposed to. BEGIN THE CONVERSATION." But what exactly are people talking about when they discuss it around the watercooler at work? Has it altered their opinion about Microsoft? Has it left them wanting to see more? Or are they just saying "Hey, did you see that weird commercial with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld? They paid Seinfeld $10 million for that? WTF?"
If I weren't in advertising, I still would've watched the commercial -- once. I would've thought, "Gee, that was lame" and moved on with my life. I certainly wouldn't be sitting around eagerly awaiting the next installment in the campaign.
It's possible the campaign itself will be terrific, the stuff of legend. Only time will tell whether this is the next "Whopper Freakout" -- or the next "Orville Reddenbacher." But it's not getting off to a terribly promising start.
Posted by: The Voice Of Reason | Sep 8, 2008 9:37:12 AM
well, that does it, now im definitely switching to MAC
Posted by: eric | Sep 8, 2008 11:29:11 AM
The ad sucks. It is flat, precious, forced and boring.
Call it an intro all you want. But when you are that lame right from the start, you don't often get people back for parts 2-10.
And as everyone has said, if any other agency did it, we'd all be screaming about the lameness. Because it is Crispin, we all assume they must know something we don't know so we say things like it "opened a conversation with consumers", which doesn't really mean anything, but it makes us look like we know something.
Admit it. The ad sucks. If you have to explain or rationalize anything about it, you are just further proving that it sucks.
Posted by: jeansie | Sep 8, 2008 5:59:23 PM
Yikes. I can only hope it gets better. Gonna be hard to spin this one. Zero chemistry. Awkward. Painfully strained jokes. The old formula of "we'll just get someone funny like jerry seinfeld to add humanity and levity" seems to have bombed. No ones gonna pull the plug on that kind of cost either.
Posted by: dara | Sep 8, 2008 6:43:21 PM
It's just a teaser, but teasers are supposed to be entertaining.
Mike: I don't think this lives up the Heaths' standard for credible--or story, for that matter. It does seem sticky thus far, though.
Posted by: | Sep 8, 2008 10:09:21 PM
Nobody at crispin is willing to put their name on it.
The credits were blank on creativity.
I suppose that'll tell you what CPB thinks of their own work.
Posted by: Dean | Sep 9, 2008 2:32:09 PM
Jerry Seinfeld was hilarious. About a decade ago. Way to go.
Posted by: jamie | Sep 9, 2008 4:58:27 PM
The Voice Of Reason, I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic when you referenced Orville as a Crispin success. I think that's generally regarded as their biggest failure.
It's true that we can't judge the campaign based on the first ad. But right now, this is all there is to judge and it leaves an awful lot to be desired.
Anyone who's paid attention to the cycles of advertising, the hot agencies keep their buzz for quite a while after they peak. So, I agree that crispin is definately over-rated, now. They were great a few years ago. And while they're still better than most agencies out there, with some truly good work going on, they have put out some pretty mediocre work in the last two years that has been received much more favorably than it should have.
Oh well. At least they were smart enough to take full advantage of it and get as big as possible before the buzz wears off. They're nothing if not opportunistic. Gotta admire them for that.
Posted by: Whome? | Sep 10, 2008 12:08:08 AM
Just to clarify, Whome?, I did not say that Crispin's Orville Reddenbacher campaign was a success. Nor was I being sarcastic. Quite the opposite, in fact.
My point was that, while the teaser with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld fell flat, once the actual campaign for Microsoft gets underway, it could either be a rousing success with critics and consumers alike (a la "Whopper Freakout") -- or a complete bust (a la "Orville Reddenbacher"). Simple as that.
While I wouldn't go so far as to say that Crispin is "overrated," I do agree with you that they've churned out some surprisingly shoddy work in the past couple of years (MIller Lite, Nike, Dominos, Ask.com, etc.).
Still, those who write them off do so at their peril. As someone in the business, I am eager to see where they go with the Microsoft campaign -- although, if I were a member of the viewing public, they would've lost me with the first commercial.
Posted by: The Voice of Reason | Sep 10, 2008 9:40:22 AM
