August 28, 2008
Microsoft’s Answer to Apple: Jerry Seinfeld
By Tom Ryan
Microsoft has hired comedian Jerry Seinfeld to star alongside Microsoft chairman Bill Gates as part of a planned $300 million fall advertising campaign. The initial focus of the commercials will be to counter negative publicity around Windows Vista, Microsoft’s latest PC operating system. But the overall objective is designed to erase Microsoft’s stuffy image and counter the ‘cool quotient’ that Apple has captured with younger consumers.
“They are not seen as cool,” Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, told The Wall Street Journal. “Apple is cool. Can anyone even recall a Microsoft ad? No.”
Microsoft’s image has particularly been hurt by Apple’s popular “Mac vs. PC” ads featuring a nerdy middle-aged man (representing PC) unable to keep up with his younger and hipper counterpart (representing Mac). The commercials have poked fun at many of the apparent shortcomings of Microsoft, including Vista. The software has sold well since Microsoft still has an overwhelming share of the market, but Apple’s computer sales have been on the rise and Vista is hampered by the notion that it has technical shortcomings and is hard to use.
However, marketing types have universally panned the choice of Mr. Seinfeld, whose legendary show ended ten years ago.
“Seinfeld does represent sort of a challenge,” Brian Steinberg, television editor for Ad Age, told The Associated Press. “He’s not Dane Cook. He’s got a more sophisticated everyday take on things. He often comes across as a questioner of conventional wisdom but also can be kind of a crank. It’s a fine line to walk when you’re dealing with a younger person.”
Mr. Steinberg did point out that the firm producing the spots – Crispin Porter and Bogusky – is known for creating commercials appealing to young males, particularly in Burger King campaigns.
Minions of bloggers, who have spent years deriding Microsoft, also not unsurprisingly panned the choice.
“If there’s one surefire way to convince everyone Vista is cool, cutting edge and not liable to get frazzled by life’s minor complications, it’s hiring a 1990s sitcom star and professional kvetcher!,” Gawker stated.
According to the Journal, however, Mr. Seinfeld ranks 41st out of more than 1,900 celebrities in terms of broad appeal, according to Davie-Brown Entertainment, part of Omnicom. Mr. Seinfeld has also had success as a spokesman for American Express.
Moreover, people familiar with the Microsoft campaign told the Journal the company was aware of trying too hard to pander to youth, so it purposely didn’t want a celebrity that was possibly just a flash-in-the-pan.
Yet one blogger, Josh Quittner of Time magazine, could be found who liked the choice. With operating systems likely to disappear in a few years and the youth transfixed on their “always-on, Internet-connected devices,” Microsoft, he said, should be focused on those over the age of 21.
“Seinfeld really hits the sweet spot for this demographic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” wrote Mr. Quittner.
Discussion Question: What do you think of the hiring of Jerry Seinfeld as a spokesperson for Microsoft? Do you think Microsoft has a serious perception problem with youth? What should Microsoft do to improve its image?
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I can’t help but think of the possibilities of Seinfeld using infamous quotes such as “not that there’s anything wrong with that” in the campaign.
Microsoft seems to be everyone’s kicking boy lately. Yet looking around, every office I go to all I see are PCs on everyone’s desk. The company’s ‘personality’ certainly needs a bit of a makeover, especially after allowing itself to get beat up for so long in those Apple ads. Let’s keep in mind they pretty much own the market place.
Will Seinfeld help? He certainly won’t hurt. In fact, the amount of press coverage Microsoft has received on this issue even before an ad has run probably makes him a winner already.
This reminded me of Beloit College’s “Mindset List,” describing the mindset of the incoming college freshman Class of 2012. Number 50 and 51 on the list are:
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php
Read it at the risk of feeling really old!
I love Seinfeld. I think he is almost as funny today as he was ten years ago. I loved his show, and I still watch it daily in reruns. I have seen him live, and if I hear that he is going to be on a late night talk show, I will TiVo the show to watch him. And I’m 51 years old. That’s the problem!
I work with a group of twenty-somethings. They think Seinfeld is tired, not funny, maybe a bit too New York, and they know he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and they don’t get the appeal. They did not go to see Bee Movie, and their idea of funny is Dane Cook.
Here is what the campaign ends up being for Microsoft. One guy in his fifties who is worth more than most countries in the world talking to another guy in his fifties worth more than most corporations in the world. Who is their audience going to be? Not the people who currently use Macs. This choice does not seem to be the answer for Microsoft.
All that being said, this old guy (hey, I do wear Skechers) is looking forward to the ad campaign. At least I’ll think it is funny!
My first reaction when I heard about the Seinfeld acquisition by Microsoft was the same as many here. I felt that it was too little, too late. Seinfeld represents an older demographic than I believe Microsoft needs to reach. Then I read some of the other comments about the rationale Microsoft has used for making the choice and I am beginning to agree with some who think Microsoft has made a good decision.
Network based services are the way of the future. It will only be the die hard Luddites, who want to continue battling with the boxes under their desks (or on their laps) and continue to maintain and update software in order to achieve results, that will refuse to make the transition. These are the folks who remember Seinfeld and might help Microsoft retain the top position in a declining technology.
Microsoft definitely has a stodgy image these days. Apple is everywhere with their cool stores, iPods and user interfaces. I think the idea of aligning themselves with a personality is a good idea. I am surprised that it is Jerry Seinfeld. However, I have 3 college students and they love to watch old Seinfeld episodes. They were too young to appreciate the first run episodes, but they love him now, so it might work. I’m not sure how “cool” or “tech savvy” he can be perceived.
The “every man” option could also work. It certainly worked for Dell when they had “Steven” on all the commercials. He was cool and cute in a sort of dingbat way. Seinfeld has a good image. I’ll be interested to see how the ad company turns that into an improved image and ultimately sales for Microsoft.
I agree with the other commentators that I would expect Jerry Seinfeld to appeal to an older demographic. Among a certain subset of the population, is Seinfeld almost as much of a punch line as Microsoft?
I disagree with many of my RetailWire peers on this issue. The usage of Jerry Seinfeld, alongside Bill Gates, if properly done, can mimic a successful Apple Campaign, and blur the uniqueness that Apple has created with their campaign. This alone is worth the effort to do. In addition to this, playing Bill Gates off of Jerry Seinfeld may make for another take on the PC cool from MS’s perspective. We don’t get many personalities in MS’s advertising, and this can certainly offer a better perspective than past campaigns.
I find this move baffling, using a spokesman whose relevance peaked 10 years ago in 1998 as a means to grab the attention of ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ tech savvy young adults. I’m a fairly young guy myself and when Seinfeld’s sitcom came to an end, I was still in middle school. I could realistically see his celebrity being used to attract attention from my fathers’ generation, but expecting this to draw the attention of twenty-something’s–that’s a stretch.
I started as a Mac guy in the late 80s and continued to be for a decade before switching to PCs. The company that introduced me to computing–and to the Mac–allowed employees their choice of Macs or PCs. Interestingly, the young guns in the company preferred PCs because they supported many, many more games. I understand that more games are still available for PCs than for Macs, which suggests that PCs are still regarded highly among younger users.
I’m guessing that the results of Microsoft’s recent Mojave Experiment will drive some of the Seinfeld messages. As you may know, MS assembled a 120-user focus group in San Francisco to hear their gripes about Vista. MS then offered to show the respondents a “new” OS called “Mojave.” Supposedly members of the focus group “gushed” over the new OS. Turns out Mojave was really Vista when used up to its capabilities. Bottom line, people may not be using Vista properly (heck, I’ve been on it for a week and have already called MS twice). Seinfeld’s manner of gentle suggestion, cajoling, and persuasiveness could be just right for this type of message.
Considering the $10 million price tag, this seems like a pretty good deal for Jerry. I certainly don’t visualize him as a tech-savvy individual or a trend leader, so it remains to be seen how his presence in the campaign will make Vista seem like a more desirable option.
Message to the folks at Microsoft: If you’re trying to appeal to the “mature” computer user with this campaign, and if Seinfeld’s celebrity proves unpersuasive in this regard, may I suggest an “everyman” approach as an alternative? I’d be happy to serve as spokesman for half the fee….
All I can think of is Jason Alexander telling us that a KFC dinner was going to make us healthy. I’m not sure that I would want to associate any product with that cynical Seinfeld cast…their run at trend setting ended, well, a decade ago.
The negative publicity around VISTA is because of its not being user-friendly and being very annoying to the user. While it will be fun to watch Seinfeld, unless Microsoft makes its software user-friendly, the advertisement campaign will be waste of money and that expense, I am sure, will be passed on to unsuspecting consumers by way of higher price! Why is that companies can not see things from consumers’ point of view?
It’s going to come down to the creative. Due to re-run heaven, Seinfeld can probably come off any way he chooses. Good creative will make him cool without being too cool. If he stays funny and within his boundaries and the script is good, this may be a very good choice.
It had never occurred to me that Microsoft had an image problem with youth but obviously it is a concern. I’m not sure that using an older middle-aged 50-something man is the way to reach our youth. However, if research suggests that Mr. Seinfeld has this appeal, then so be it. I must be out of touch. I assumed that some rap singer with the word “cool” in his name would be better. I’ve never purchased a Microsoft product because of their image or appeal. It’s always been out of necessity because it seems most specialized business software requires Windows or Vista.
Full disclosure: I am a total Mac guy.
This is a good move on Microsoft’s part. Yes, I said it. Good move. You have to consider the goal and the market. Every new consumer computer that’s not a Mac comes with Vista. The younger, more tech-savvy crowd buys a new computer frequently enough that Microsoft doesn’t really have to market to them.
The “Seinfeld set” on the other hand is far more likely to be happy doing the same things on the same computer using the same operating system. Still gets email, still surfs the web, still types a document. Yup, I’m all set. My kid edits the home movies on that new gaming rig I bought him.
Microsoft only has to market Vista *upgrades* and that means people who’ll be keeping their computer for a while longer. Seinfeld is probably dead on for that demographic.
That said, Jerry Seinfeld had a succession of Macs clearly visible in his apartment on the show for all those years….
Just an FYI, there is a Sienfeld show tour bus currently touring college campuses across the US to help a younger generation embrace their inner Costanza.
I agree with points from several of the previous posts. I question Sienfeld’s appeal to a youth market. And even if he has that appeal, can he really help sell a fundamentally flawed product? If I were Jerry Seinfeld, I would be concerned about how my decision to shill for Microsoft is going to influence and taint the view consumers have of my “Seinfeld” brand.
Before looking forward on how Seinfeld may play for Microsoft, I think you have to look back to all of Microsoft’s feeble attempts at marketing anything. How’s that multi-million dollar “Sidewalk” campaign working for you? Or, better yet the Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” campaign–yawn, oh sorry was someone marketing something?
Face it, Microsoft may be good at software, even though I have never liked their products and everyone tells me Vista is a pain, but one thing is for sure–Microsoft is the worst when it comes to designing feature sets for products, marketing and advertising. Did someone say Z U N E ?
Microsoft’s use of a $10 million superstar to combat Apple’s less than celebrity, low key pitchmen, only serves to reinforce Apple’s point. The behemoth Microsoft needs a cannon to fight off a highly effective Apple slingshot.
Apple commercials ooze its product’s intuitive simplicity, reliability and superiority. That said Microsoft can either refute the negative charges aimed at Vista if untrue, or fix the problems and then announce the improvement to the world, with or without the use of a celebrity.
I am currently looking to purchase a laptop and Apple’s effective ads alone have made me very cautious as to the prospect of dealing with Vista. The ball is in Microsoft’s court. Unless its systems function well, no advertising can serve as more than a band aid over a gaping wound.
I think it’s worth a try to have Jerry and Bill ham it up in global ads.
Jerry appeals to the corporate decision makers around America rather than the minions of corporate America. It might just keep MS in the corporate world for another decade.
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I can’t help but think of the possibilities of Seinfeld using infamous quotes such as “not that there’s anything wrong with that” in the campaign.
Microsoft seems to be everyone’s kicking boy lately. Yet looking around, every office I go to all I see are PCs on everyone’s desk. The company’s ‘personality’ certainly needs a bit of a makeover, especially after allowing itself to get beat up for so long in those Apple ads. Let’s keep in mind they pretty much own the market place.
Will Seinfeld help? He certainly won’t hurt. In fact, the amount of press coverage Microsoft has received on this issue even before an ad has run probably makes him a winner already.
This reminded me of Beloit College’s “Mindset List,” describing the mindset of the incoming college freshman Class of 2012. Number 50 and 51 on the list are:
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php
Read it at the risk of feeling really old!
I love Seinfeld. I think he is almost as funny today as he was ten years ago. I loved his show, and I still watch it daily in reruns. I have seen him live, and if I hear that he is going to be on a late night talk show, I will TiVo the show to watch him. And I’m 51 years old. That’s the problem!
I work with a group of twenty-somethings. They think Seinfeld is tired, not funny, maybe a bit too New York, and they know he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and they don’t get the appeal. They did not go to see Bee Movie, and their idea of funny is Dane Cook.
Here is what the campaign ends up being for Microsoft. One guy in his fifties who is worth more than most countries in the world talking to another guy in his fifties worth more than most corporations in the world. Who is their audience going to be? Not the people who currently use Macs. This choice does not seem to be the answer for Microsoft.
All that being said, this old guy (hey, I do wear Skechers) is looking forward to the ad campaign. At least I’ll think it is funny!
My first reaction when I heard about the Seinfeld acquisition by Microsoft was the same as many here. I felt that it was too little, too late. Seinfeld represents an older demographic than I believe Microsoft needs to reach. Then I read some of the other comments about the rationale Microsoft has used for making the choice and I am beginning to agree with some who think Microsoft has made a good decision.
Network based services are the way of the future. It will only be the die hard Luddites, who want to continue battling with the boxes under their desks (or on their laps) and continue to maintain and update software in order to achieve results, that will refuse to make the transition. These are the folks who remember Seinfeld and might help Microsoft retain the top position in a declining technology.
Microsoft definitely has a stodgy image these days. Apple is everywhere with their cool stores, iPods and user interfaces. I think the idea of aligning themselves with a personality is a good idea. I am surprised that it is Jerry Seinfeld. However, I have 3 college students and they love to watch old Seinfeld episodes. They were too young to appreciate the first run episodes, but they love him now, so it might work. I’m not sure how “cool” or “tech savvy” he can be perceived.
The “every man” option could also work. It certainly worked for Dell when they had “Steven” on all the commercials. He was cool and cute in a sort of dingbat way. Seinfeld has a good image. I’ll be interested to see how the ad company turns that into an improved image and ultimately sales for Microsoft.
I agree with the other commentators that I would expect Jerry Seinfeld to appeal to an older demographic. Among a certain subset of the population, is Seinfeld almost as much of a punch line as Microsoft?
I disagree with many of my RetailWire peers on this issue. The usage of Jerry Seinfeld, alongside Bill Gates, if properly done, can mimic a successful Apple Campaign, and blur the uniqueness that Apple has created with their campaign. This alone is worth the effort to do. In addition to this, playing Bill Gates off of Jerry Seinfeld may make for another take on the PC cool from MS’s perspective. We don’t get many personalities in MS’s advertising, and this can certainly offer a better perspective than past campaigns.
I find this move baffling, using a spokesman whose relevance peaked 10 years ago in 1998 as a means to grab the attention of ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ tech savvy young adults. I’m a fairly young guy myself and when Seinfeld’s sitcom came to an end, I was still in middle school. I could realistically see his celebrity being used to attract attention from my fathers’ generation, but expecting this to draw the attention of twenty-something’s–that’s a stretch.
I started as a Mac guy in the late 80s and continued to be for a decade before switching to PCs. The company that introduced me to computing–and to the Mac–allowed employees their choice of Macs or PCs. Interestingly, the young guns in the company preferred PCs because they supported many, many more games. I understand that more games are still available for PCs than for Macs, which suggests that PCs are still regarded highly among younger users.
I’m guessing that the results of Microsoft’s recent Mojave Experiment will drive some of the Seinfeld messages. As you may know, MS assembled a 120-user focus group in San Francisco to hear their gripes about Vista. MS then offered to show the respondents a “new” OS called “Mojave.” Supposedly members of the focus group “gushed” over the new OS. Turns out Mojave was really Vista when used up to its capabilities. Bottom line, people may not be using Vista properly (heck, I’ve been on it for a week and have already called MS twice). Seinfeld’s manner of gentle suggestion, cajoling, and persuasiveness could be just right for this type of message.
Considering the $10 million price tag, this seems like a pretty good deal for Jerry. I certainly don’t visualize him as a tech-savvy individual or a trend leader, so it remains to be seen how his presence in the campaign will make Vista seem like a more desirable option.
Message to the folks at Microsoft: If you’re trying to appeal to the “mature” computer user with this campaign, and if Seinfeld’s celebrity proves unpersuasive in this regard, may I suggest an “everyman” approach as an alternative? I’d be happy to serve as spokesman for half the fee….
All I can think of is Jason Alexander telling us that a KFC dinner was going to make us healthy. I’m not sure that I would want to associate any product with that cynical Seinfeld cast…their run at trend setting ended, well, a decade ago.
The negative publicity around VISTA is because of its not being user-friendly and being very annoying to the user. While it will be fun to watch Seinfeld, unless Microsoft makes its software user-friendly, the advertisement campaign will be waste of money and that expense, I am sure, will be passed on to unsuspecting consumers by way of higher price! Why is that companies can not see things from consumers’ point of view?
It’s going to come down to the creative. Due to re-run heaven, Seinfeld can probably come off any way he chooses. Good creative will make him cool without being too cool. If he stays funny and within his boundaries and the script is good, this may be a very good choice.
It had never occurred to me that Microsoft had an image problem with youth but obviously it is a concern. I’m not sure that using an older middle-aged 50-something man is the way to reach our youth. However, if research suggests that Mr. Seinfeld has this appeal, then so be it. I must be out of touch. I assumed that some rap singer with the word “cool” in his name would be better. I’ve never purchased a Microsoft product because of their image or appeal. It’s always been out of necessity because it seems most specialized business software requires Windows or Vista.
Full disclosure: I am a total Mac guy.
This is a good move on Microsoft’s part. Yes, I said it. Good move. You have to consider the goal and the market. Every new consumer computer that’s not a Mac comes with Vista. The younger, more tech-savvy crowd buys a new computer frequently enough that Microsoft doesn’t really have to market to them.
The “Seinfeld set” on the other hand is far more likely to be happy doing the same things on the same computer using the same operating system. Still gets email, still surfs the web, still types a document. Yup, I’m all set. My kid edits the home movies on that new gaming rig I bought him.
Microsoft only has to market Vista *upgrades* and that means people who’ll be keeping their computer for a while longer. Seinfeld is probably dead on for that demographic.
That said, Jerry Seinfeld had a succession of Macs clearly visible in his apartment on the show for all those years….
Just an FYI, there is a Sienfeld show tour bus currently touring college campuses across the US to help a younger generation embrace their inner Costanza.
I agree with points from several of the previous posts. I question Sienfeld’s appeal to a youth market. And even if he has that appeal, can he really help sell a fundamentally flawed product? If I were Jerry Seinfeld, I would be concerned about how my decision to shill for Microsoft is going to influence and taint the view consumers have of my “Seinfeld” brand.
Before looking forward on how Seinfeld may play for Microsoft, I think you have to look back to all of Microsoft’s feeble attempts at marketing anything. How’s that multi-million dollar “Sidewalk” campaign working for you? Or, better yet the Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” campaign–yawn, oh sorry was someone marketing something?
Face it, Microsoft may be good at software, even though I have never liked their products and everyone tells me Vista is a pain, but one thing is for sure–Microsoft is the worst when it comes to designing feature sets for products, marketing and advertising. Did someone say Z U N E ?
Microsoft’s use of a $10 million superstar to combat Apple’s less than celebrity, low key pitchmen, only serves to reinforce Apple’s point. The behemoth Microsoft needs a cannon to fight off a highly effective Apple slingshot.
Apple commercials ooze its product’s intuitive simplicity, reliability and superiority. That said Microsoft can either refute the negative charges aimed at Vista if untrue, or fix the problems and then announce the improvement to the world, with or without the use of a celebrity.
I am currently looking to purchase a laptop and Apple’s effective ads alone have made me very cautious as to the prospect of dealing with Vista. The ball is in Microsoft’s court. Unless its systems function well, no advertising can serve as more than a band aid over a gaping wound.
I think it’s worth a try to have Jerry and Bill ham it up in global ads.
Jerry appeals to the corporate decision makers around America rather than the minions of corporate America. It might just keep MS in the corporate world for another decade.