Apparently, the Crispin spots featuring Jerry Seinfeld are getting the hook, and being replaced with other spots, including John “I’m a PC” Hodgman look-a-like embracing the character in the Apple ads. From The New York Times:
What follows is an audacious embrace of the disdainful label that Apple, Microsoft’s rival, has gleefully — and successfully — affixed onto users of Microsoft products: “I’m a PC.”
One new Microsoft commercial even begins with a company engineer who resembles John Hodgman, the comedian portraying the loser PC character in the Apple campaign. “Hello, I’m a PC,” the engineer says, echoing Mr. Hodgman’s recurring line, “and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”
If there’s no more Seinfeld, well that was one damn expensive teaser campaign.
Wasn’t that pretty much the plan from the beginning? I was under the impression that Seinfeld was only going to be appear in the teasers. So I’m not sure it’s fair to say that he’s been “cancelled.”
Yeah, a $10 million paycheck makes for “one damn expensive teaser campaign.” But even though a lot of people — including me — didn’t particularly care for the commercials, they did generate buzz — which is what they were intended to do. And since Seinfeld and Bill Gates were the only reasons why those ads got so much attention (just imagine if you had the same set up and the same script, only with Carrot Top and Steve Ballmer), I’d say it was money well spent.
Of course, if Microsoft paid me $10 million, I’d switch from Mac to PC, too.
“Cancelled” is the wrong word.
I still have to say that Microsoft is blowing a big old hole in its ad budget while not fixing what is just a plain shitty product. Why not spend that on some great R & D and fix the damn thing instead of hiring the “boys” at CPB to try and sell the public some more snake oil? It amazes me that the amount of money they spend on R & D still cannot fix Windows. Why is it always fraught with security holes and many times the same security holes that they were supposed to fix in the last version or the version before that?
Those ads were lame indeed and not funny at all but I guess Seinfeld is laughing all the way to the bank.
seinfeld doesn’t have to laugh to the bank any more. even that get’s old.
but anyway…
walking down that memory lane, i guess we could have foreseen that you can try to bee whomever you want to bee, but the lyrics of the next song on the album aren’t always that true to youtube life:
I roll a stoney
Well you can imitate ev’ryone you know
Yes you can imitate ev’ryone you know
I told you so, all I want is you.
Ev’rything has got to be just like you want it to
Because–
I think ‘buzz’ could equally be generated with good work. The teasers were not. These were surely buzz-worthy, but trying to spin it as marketing genius is a little much.