Seinfeld deal a desperate attempt at being ‘hip’

Money can’t buy you everything and Microsoft is proof that all the wealth in the world can’t make you cool. It is the Napoleon Dynamite of the IT industry and I don’t think that will ever change.

The fact that Apple, The Fonz of the industry, is witnessing a period of mushrooming growth and popularity is further compounding Microsoft’s daggy image.

I’m sure you all remember the “Hello, I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” adverts which portrayed PCs as stuffy suits and Macs as young, cool and hip. The guy portraying Macs, Justin Long, has even managed to hook up with Drew Barrymore and Kaitlin Doubleday.

Microsoft has ongoing image problems, but I cannot see how its latest advertising campaign is going to make any difference and its channel seems to agree.

It was recently reported that as part of Mircosoft’s upcoming US$300 million advertising campaign it had inked a deal with Jerry Seinfeld as one of its spokespeople, with Jerry getting a US$10 million slice.

If it was still the ’90s I might have been slightly impressed.

However it is not and Jerry Seinfeld is a comedy relic. Let’s be honest too, Microsoft is more like George Costanza than any other Seinfeld character. Apparently Seinfeld will appear with former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on the advert. I’m already cringing at the thought of that ungainly combination.

On the cool scale it is a has-been and a never was.

Our friends at CRN US were intrigued enough that they asked the channel community just what they thought of the car crash campaign.

“I find it ironic that in order to ‘out hip’ Apple, Microsoft is hiring a comedian whose prime was a decade ago. They may as well have Phil Collins do the background music while they’re at it,” said Andrew Kretzer, director of sales and marketing at Bold Data Technology, a US system builder.

Bob Nitrio, president of RanVest Associates, another US system builder, said: “I think Seinfeld was credible in the American Express ads he used to do, but Microsoft needs him to be twice as good at comedy, and many more times effective at drawing the audience into the message of the commercials, if they want to best Apple.”

Mark Crall, president of Charlotte Tech Care Team, a Microsoft partner, said: “What made the Apple ads funny were the exaggerated elements of truth. While Microsoft has fixed much of what Apple creatively made fun of, Microsoft can’t just debunk the prior ads. Instead, they need to come over the top and try to get Apple on the defense, but with class.”

A pretty compounding view from Microsoft’s US partners and I tend to agree. Microsoft may argue it is aiming for a slightly older audience.
The corporate decision-makers basically.

Seeing as Microsoft has an oversized US$300 million coffer for this campaign and money talks, who would be a good pick for Microsoft?

How about Robert De Niro? “You talkin’ to me? You wanna talk to me? Then get Microsoft’s new Unified Communications suite”. That could work. Or maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Hasta la Microsoft Vista baby. It’s not as bad as my acting”. Some food for thought there Microsoft.

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