Microsoft Ends Seinfeld-Gates Commercial
Say bye-bye to those bad-bad Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates commercials for Microsoft, which ended the 
campaign yesterday.
The commercials began airing two weeks ago as part of the computer giant’s initiative to get customers to begin “a conversation” about the sometimes-maligned company, which is under a new assault by Apple. That company has launched its own archly ironic campaign designed to get PC-users to switch.
The blogosphere was ablaze late Wednesday with reports that the commercials were dumped by a red-faced Microsoft - stung by criticism of the spots, which featured Seinfeld and Gates trying on sneakers, or living in a house with an average family. Critics called the spots ill-conceived and silly.
However, Elizabeth Clark-Zoia, Seinfeld’s longtime spokeswoman, insisted the Internet reports were wrong, and that “Jerry was contracted for three commercials and that was it.”
“In no way are they pulling them off the air,” she said. “My understanding is that [they're going] into phase two, and that was always going to happen, and we were not involved [with that] in any way.” She added, “Jerry was very happy with them and he had a great time. He thought they were really fun.”
Tom Pilla, general manager of corporate communications for Microsoft, said, “Jerry was fantastic and we appreciated the value he brought to the campaign. … This was the plan the entire time. … These are teaser ads to start a conversation and get the buzz going, which they basically did [and] very shortly we’ll transition into the next phase which, will be more focused on the Windows brand.”
The second phase - with Eva Longoria Parker among other TV stars - began airing yesterday.
About the Author: Dusty Edwards is a Web Publisher, Blogger and Internet Entrepreneur. He is the owner of a TriCities consulting firm which specializes in network security and server administration. Dusty is a geek-at-heart who founded Tek-Media.net so that he could share useful information and discuss Technology with others.
Stephen | Nov 5, 2008 | Reply
Very good post! Thank you for the work done!