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?