September 11th, 2008
Gates & Seinfeld's next commercial: Better. With funny parts.
updated: The commercial is on YouTube now. It’s embedded below.
The second Microsoft commercial featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld is out (being broadcast tonight during Big Brother on CBS) and at least this time, there were some funny scenes. And there was clearly a message this time. Gates and Seinfeld are “out of it” and need to connect with real people - which is why they move in with “a real family.” (The grandma steals the show with her hilarious off-the-cuff remarks.) Now, it kind’s kind of starting to make sense. Windows needs to think about how to adapt to the needs of real people. (I love the scene where Gates reads a bedtime story.)
This commercials airs a week after the first one debuted during the first NFL game. You’ll recall that the first commercial - which wasn’t so much about computers, Windows or even the rivalry with Apple - was an awkward interaction between Gates and Seinfeld in a discount shoe store. The reviews were not very good - but Microsoft noted that it was only the first in a $300 million ad campaign.
I’m still not a huge fan of the Gates-Seinfeld interaction in these commercials but this one was much better. And seeing Gates imitate a robot is much better than watching him adjust his shorts.
As soon as I can get some embed code to post the commercial, I will. In the meantime, here’s a link to it on the Microsoft site. Below is my own video reacting to the first commercial.
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 09/11/08
