back to article Microsoft mojo deflated by Seinfeld Vista ads

Jerry Seinfeld hasn’t recorded a fresh edition of his eponymous sitcom in eleven years. Yet the once wildly-popular show about nothing has lived on, zombie-like, in the twilight world of US cable syndication and Microsoft Windows Vista adverts. Guess which is the more successful. A Seinfeld-fronted TV ad, part of a series …

COMMENTS

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  1. tuna

    Sure, The Ad Deflated Vista's Mojo

    'Cuz we all know Vista was flying high prior to those poor excuses of marketing.

    Next up: Mojave Experiment Redux... I can't believe it's not Windows 7!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    "environmentally advanced"

    Does anyone have a bucket? I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Anything with Seinfeld...

    ... would give me a negative impression of any company desperate enough to use that jerk-off.

  4. Dave

    Re: "environmentally advanced"

    Think environment as it will be if we don't clean up our act. That makes more sense.

  5. 2FishInATank
    Paris Hilton

    Hmmm

    "The ads were part of a $300m Microsoft campaign devised by oh-so-hot ad agency Crispin Porter and Bogusky."

    With a name like that, surely MS should have known what they were getting into....

    Paris because she knows all too well about the dangers of Bogus KY.....

  6. David Kairns

    Just a thought

    Hey MS, rumour has it that non-shit infested products also devoid of bullshit PR lies will actually sell well.

    Try it (but you won't like it because it's honest and...ah heck, never mind).

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    OK?

    Somewhat of a pointless poll if only 400 people are questioned, considering that a broad user base is not represented by a mere fraction of its official numbers. Also to take into consideration are demographics, age, etc, just too many factors to even warrant a successful view of the people's opinions as a whole.

  8. Moss Icely Spaceport
    Thumb Down

    Seinfeld suits Vista

    Both are lame and I want nothing of them.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Seinfeld

    He was the straight guy in a show where most of the characters were laughed *at* not *with*.

    When we see him, we are still laughing *at* those around him.

    I suspect he is too!

    It must hurt, Apple's premium product doing better than "standard" windows during an economic downturn.

    <LOL Mode=ON>

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    @OK?

    surely anything less than 100% is a mere fraction? do they have to ask everyone?

  11. N

    The message I get is:

    That Bill Gates is daft enough to take advice from a fool who advocates wearing shoes in the shower.

    Or is it an American thing that you have to be perceived this way in advertising?

    Whatever the message is supposed to be, its confused, distorted & rather silly, just like their operating systems.

  12. Craig
    Happy

    I liked them

    Some people just don't like Seinfeld, the guy or the series. These ads were never going to appeal to those people anyway. I'm not sure this is really newsworthy.

    I liked the ads, but then again, I love the show :)

  13. Tim Bates
    Thumb Down

    I'm a PC.... But I run Linux on mine....

    Both those MS ads make a massive mistake. Not mentioning the product. The PC one just says PS over and over, not Windows. PC does not equal Windows. Heck, even Apple badged their computers with "PowerPC" for many years. And the Seinfeld one was just confusing.

    If MS seriously think Linux and Apple are threats, they are going to need to start mentioning the product name more often in advertising.

  14. TimNevins

    @Seinfield

    I always found Seinfeld uncomfortable viewing in that he employed people fatter,shorter and less attractive than himself to make him appear taller,slimmer and more attractive.

    However what I really found unpleasant was this American 'Jocks vs Geeks' mentality that Americans derive so much pleasure from. As the previous poster stated you are expected to find humiliation,degradation and general sufferance of Seinfeld's colleagues a source of general mirth and amusement.

    We are not amused. Doing comedy that makes people laugh with ritual ridicule *of others* is a challenge Seinfeld could never manage. Curb your Enthusiasm on the other hand is work of genius and I still dont understand how co-creator of Seinfeld can make such a great comedy.

  15. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: @Seinfield

    'Seinfeld' blew goats. I have proof.

  16. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    @Moderatrix

    Proof ?

    Playmobile pic, or there is no such thing.

  17. Dave

    @Sarah Bee

    No proof without pictures...

  18. Andrew Kirkpatrick

    @I'm a PC.... But I run Linux on mine....

    I think the fact they're even bothering to advertise properly after years of being lazy shows that they're starting to get scared...

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well

    My cumulative Seinfeld-watching time came to about 15 minutes over the years, so I can't really say much about the show. But it did seem odd that they picked somebody over 50--somebody approximately my age--for a hip, young image.

  20. Andrew Moore

    Seinfeld...

    better known as "The whiny Jews show with that guy from UHF in it" in our house. Co-written by that guy who's in "Larry David is an arsehole and so are all of his friends"

  21. Stevie

    Er

    You guys are aware that Seinfield is still doing stand-up, aren't you? It's not like he defines himself by the long-running and paradoxically (from the viewpoint of everyone here) popular show, at least not these days.

    Whatever.

    Hey, more power to his wallet. If someone asked me to shill MS Vista for 10 million dollas I'd take their arm off at the elbow even though I use the name as a cussword, and I'm pretty sure so would every single Register reader.

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