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Bill and Jerry: Is this funny?

Jennifer Wells, September 5, 2008 at 9:54 AM EST

So Bill Gates walks into a shoe store. And Jerry Seinfeld walks into a shoe store. And Jerry helps Bill find a pair of shoes. And, well, I could go on, but then this blog post would be about nothing, just like the first piece of creative out of Crispin Porter for Microsoft is about nothing. Which would be the point, I guess. This is a $300 million account, remember. Huge for CP+B, which has its reputation on the line with this one. Will commercials like this one beat the pants off the fabulous I'm a Mac/I'm a PC? Oh, do let me know what you think.

  1. Dean Hill from Toronto, writes: Bill and Jerry shopping at Shoe Circus? Edible computers? Sorry, I don't get it. What's more sad is that MS dosen't 'get' the average consumer. Windows Vista is the end result.
  2. R L from Canada writes: Funny? I imagine it could be, were I stoned, but I was limited to Coors Light and, well, it just didn't do the trick. I suspect the humour and message will start to gel as more installments roll out. But the main thing that stuck in my head after viewing this spot was that Bill Gates is the kind of bazillionaire cheapskate who would shop for crappy shoes at a crappy discount store. Which doesn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies about Windows - not that anything could.
  3. Mark R from Moncton, Canada writes: Bill Gates is not a cheapskate. He donates more money to charity than anyone. Not being jaded by his fortune is one of his qualities.

    This commercial is probably part of a series of commercials. They are trying to get people introduced to the idea of Seinfeld and Gates interacting with each other. There will be more to come.
  4. Evan Hildreth from Ottawa, Canada writes: I get it. They are trying to overcome the perception of Microsoft as an uncaring monopolistic mega-corporation, by presenting a human face (Gates) and showing a sense of humility. The commercial was intended to address Microsoft's image, which they need to repair before they can effectively advertise their products.

    My problem is, the commercial is about 10 years too late. Seinfeld was most popular in the '90s, and Gates isn't even running Microsoft anymore. The commercial ends with "the future", but feels like an attempt to rekindle the '90s when Microsoft was at its peak and people cared about Seinfeld.
  5. Stephen Duke from Vancouver, Canada writes:
    NOT FUNNY. NOT ANYTHING.

    Bill Gates is the least compelling figure I can think of as a pitchman. He is a number one geek (albeit a generous one?). He is a bad straightman and Jerry comes off obsiquious.

    If it were to bounce off Gate's philanthropy or something it might have traction. But, I would have kept Bill out of it completely anyway.

    Jerry on his own is another matter. "What's the deal with that?" is ubiquitous and quite frankly, his brand. Why not use that to disarm Apple's claims of superiority? I have no idea what MS has in store for us, but there are some tempting sources of disinformation spread by Apple that if Jerry were to ask "What's the deal with that?", would provoke some consumer thought and perhaps Mac remorse - Apple's achilles heel.

    I could just see Kramer freaking out when his attempts to conquer the switch to MAC are compounded by odd things such as a computer that announces "it's four o'clock" unexpectedly. "what's the deal with that?" Everything you need and nothing you don't.

    Try again CP B
  6. Stephen Duke from Vancouver, Canada writes:
    Parting thought:

    It is apparent by both the choice of approach and use of Bill and Jerry, that the strategy attempts to target a much different audience than the Mac/PC campaign. This is curious to me.

    Either MS/CP B feel they are better off targeting the demographic most likely to cling to MS products because they feel starting with retention is prudent; or, they think there are able to pick up greater market share in this segment.

    It does not go head to head with Apple for the same market segments that is obvious. I thought that was the objective all along. So it is just boring and uninteresting to watch.

    Like they don't get it man.
  7. R L from Canada writes: Mark R, I do realize that Gates is not a cheapskate. He's a great philanthropist, as you note.

    Microsoft's problem, however, is that people increasingly perceive (some would say recognize) Windows as second-rate. It has zilch cool factor, in contrast to the Mac. Showing your founder shopping for cut-rate shoes in a tacky discount store is taking a bit of a risk, IMO.
  8. Bryan C from Vancouver, Canada writes:
    This is one of the worst ads I've ever seen.

    The script makes no sense. It's not comedy, it's just a bunch of silly phrases loosely connected. Bad direction, bad acting, bad everything.

    No connection to reality. No information communicated. No entertainment provided.

    CPB spent $10 million on this. Wow.
  9. Sun Ra from Canada writes: I think this is pitiful. If this is the best Microsoft can do to combat Apple's very successful campaign to lure Windows' users to Apple's Mac OSX, no wonder their market share is shrinking. It's sad to see so many signs of Microsoft rotting from within.
  10. T. Poole from Toronto, Canada writes: This is Steven (Jerry Seinfeld) Harper taking his kid, Bill out for a sound bite.

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