Microsoft: "We Can Be Wacky, Too!"

See? We can be as funny as Apple! And we'll bring in the big guns (Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Gates, and the edgy ad agency that birthed the creepy Burger King king) to do it.

Microsoft's eagerly anticipated new ad campaign for Windows debuted during the NFL's season-opening game Thursday, and it succeeded wildly in generating buzz.

In a nondescript mall, Seinfeld sees Bill Gates shopping in a cut-rate shoe store. The shop's motto -- "Quality shoes at discount prices. Why pay more?" -- sounds like a pitch for PCs versus more-expensive Macs.

Seinfeld and Gates bond while choosing and breaking in a pair of oxfords under the watchful gaze of a Hispanic family and an overweight, mustached salesman. Then they walk together through the parking lot (regular guys don't have limos) where Gates does a quick shimmy to hint to Seinfeld that Microsoft will take him up on his idea of making a computer that's "edible and chewy, like a cake."

What Microsoft Wants You to Know

It's definitely more "Huh?" than Vista's "Wow," but that's what it's supposed to be. Eric Hollreiser, a Microsoft spokesman, says the ad "is really meant to be a conversation starter ... an icebreaker."

The next installment of the campaign, which we hope will provide some more concrete context, should be days, not weeks, away, Hollreiser says. Ultimately the "campaign will highlight how Windows has become an indispensable part of the lives of a billion people around the globe," the press release explains.

As the campaign progresses, it "will always be marked by humor and humanity."

What The Ad Doesn't Say

Although the commercials will likely remind viewers will of Apple's famous "Get a Mac" ad campaign. Those ads, also known for their humanity and humor, show two regular guys (one beige and stodgy than the other young and hip) personifying the rival brands.

This Microsoft ad is much closer in tone to their competitor's spots than their last major consumer campaign for Windows Vista, the "Wow" campaign by McCann Erickson.

The decision to go humorous and human raises the question of why a company with a billion people using its product needs to break the ice and reconnect with consumers.

The press release explains: "Microsoft's historic relationship with consumers has become insufficient in this new world (one where a billion people each with a unique set of needs), a situation that has led the company to fundamentally rebuild the customer experience."

This commercial is meant to be one of step in that process. Maybe the next one will talk about the real product.

by Willow Duttge