Another high profile Bill Gates meets Jerry Seinfeld advertisement has launched. Like the first, it makes for a pretty good one-time view, but again like the first, it doesn't really say much. 

The ads are the start of a long campaign, and if this is the case, they really have to start saying something about what they are all about soon. I know Seinfeld was famously the show about nothing, but an ad that says nothing about a product that people don't really care about getting the most out of, could just turn into a nothing ad.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how excited you get about corporate marketing materials, I've taken on the task of reading the official line on the adverts from Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows Consumer Product Marketing. Although Brad does have a lot to say, it makes for some slightly confusing reading and isn't exciting thrilling.

"When you think of more than a billion people using Windows across the globe, each person with a unique set of circumstances, and then factor in three Windows platforms and what they can do, it's hard to even comprehend the number of unique scenarios Windows can potentially address," enthuses Brooks. "Today customers see inconsistent buying scenarios, and often end up with PCs or devices that aren't ideally suited to what they want from Windows. And the company hasn't always provided enough information for people to understand the functionality they need, and how to get there. We need to help our customers keep pace."

"Inconsistent buying scenarios"? Unique scenarios that Microsoft can address - potentially? It hardly sets the consumer tongue wagging, does it?

It's a no brainer - to use the vernacular of the watercooler - that the introduction of Seinfeld, and the placing of Gates in a number of increasingly quirky situations will get people talking, writing and blogging. But, will this be the downfall of the ads? Won't they just be forgotten eventually - or sooner even? And more importantly it's still unclear how the ads will encourage people to learn more about and do more with their Microsoft tools and devices?

But at least we have learnt that it's probably a good thing that the Seinfeld series finished when it did, before Gates got a chance for a guest role, and possibly more importantly, that Bill Gates wears shoes, cannot do the robot, and runs effeminately.

Author: David Neal

12 Sep 2008