Perhaps realizing that lying to your customers didn't really make the best national ad campaign, Microsoft has released a new set of ads.

Instead, Microsoft has enlisted Jerry Seinfeld to do what he does best...a commercial about nothing. The 90-second spot involves Seinfeld and Bill Gates in a churo-eating shoe-buying possibly homoerotic exchange that ends in the conclusion that Vista is somehow similar to a pastry.

Though Microsoft's duo has a just a wee bit more star power and wealth than Justin Long and John Hodgmen, the GatefFeld effort pales in comparison to the "get a Mac" series, and provides an odd parallel to another episode in the Redmond/Cupertino rivalry.

Apple's ads: Simple, elegant, understated, lots of white, and a constant air of smug elitism. Hello, these ads are an iPod.

Microsoft's ad: Clumsy, bizarre, tedius, and propped up solely by name recognition and truckloads of cash. Microsoft's answer to Apple's ads is a lot like its answer to Apple's MP3 player.

09 Sep 2008