Not that there’s anything wrong with that

In June 1989, Seinfeld premiered on American television, attracting cult attention and critical praise for its first season or so. Its first really successful season was its fourth, when for the first time it made number two on the Nielsen ratings for the year. In the 1995 TV season, it was number one. This was followed by a few more good years when it mainly landed around number two for the year, and then it made number one for its final season, in 1998.

Since then, the career of writer and star Jerry Seinfeld has made a lot of money off past glories thanks to DVD sales, but new projects haven’t made a splash. His highly anticipated 2007 release, Bee Movie, did not do well.

Got that? Now note the following.

In May of 1990 Microsoft released Windows 3.0. This was the first version of Windows that enjoyed any degree of commercial success. It was also the first version that met with the approval of critics who, for the first time, compared Windows favourably against Mac OS. In 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95 to global rapture and excitement. Windows sales spiked again three years later with the release of Windows 98.

Subsequently, the excitement wore off. Windows ME, Windows 2000, and even Windows XP all sold well enough thanks to entrenched site licensing, but without the sense of revolution that had accompanied those 1990s releases. And the highly anticipated 2007 release of Windows Vista was, shall we say, a disappointment.

You see the point I’m making?

Microsoft has hired Jerry Seinfeld to star in a series of ads designed to refurbish Microsoft’s image. The first of them premiered last week on US TV, and it’s all over YouTube. The ads are obviously designed with branding in mind, so don’t expect to hear about specific products, features or competitive advantages. This is not Microsoft’s version of the Apple “Mac vs PC” spots.

That said, it’s a bit difficult to pin down precisely what it’s supposed to be. It’s Seinfeld and Bill Gates in a shopping mall having a very uncomfortable conversation.

There’s churros in it, and something about computers made of chewy cake. Bill Gates adjusts his underwear. Really.

Bear in mind that Gates no longer works for Microsoft. He’s chairman of the board, but has no direct duties or executive responsibility. He hasn’t been the CEO since January 2000. That’s right — the 1990s ended, and so did his career at the top of Microsoft.

Before the ads came out, people were wondering why Seinfeld (whose fictional apartment in the TV show always prominently featured a Mac) was chosen for a series of Microsoft ads. The answer is obvious when you examine the history. The career trajectories of Seinfeld and Windows are virtually identical — it was inevitable they would find each other.

The ad represents nostalgia for a golden time a decade ago when Seinfeld was funny and Gates actually had a hand in what Microsoft was developing. Microsoft clearly thinks if it reminds people of that time, they’ll get excited about Windows again.

Microsoft — what year do you wish it was today?

Matthew JC. Powell laughed at the bit with the platinum card. Pity him on mjcp@optusnet.com.au

anything not software that theres with wrong