Microsoft cancels Seinfeld ads

Microsoft is ending its Seinfeld/Gates ad run

Microsoft has cancelled its much-hyped Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates advertising campaign.

The company said that it would be ending the campaign in favour of two new advertising strategies designed to tout the benefits of Windows Vista and strike back at Apple's 'Get a Mac' campaign.

The first ad will be titled 'Life without walls' and is designed to showcase Windows' reach across multiple devices. The ads will highlight the ability to move seamlessly between handheld, desktop, notebook and entertainment devices.

"At the core, Windows is about enabling each one of us, as individuals, to live our lives without walls," explained Bill Veghte, senior vice president of Microsoft's online services and Windows Business Group.

"I want to work when I want to work, I want to play when I want to play. I want to communicate and share with friends and family and co-workers."

The second campaign will be a not-so-subtle jab at Apple and its popular 'I'm a Mac' campaign in which actors Justin Long and John Hodgman portray the personifications of the Mac and PC computers.

The campaign will attempt to dispel Apple's portrayal of PCs as stuffy and out of touch by featuring celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Deepak Chopra declaring: "I'm a PC."

According to Microsoft, the Seinfeld ads were only the first step in the campaign and intended as a "teaser" for the two latest efforts.

Announced last month, the Seinfeld ads were touted as "a new chapter" in the history of Windows.

However, the ads were poorly received within the industry as many questioned the relevance which harkened back to the theme of the Seinfeld "show about nothing" sitcom.