Opinion: Normal viewing resumed

It seems the software monster has decided to return to “more traditional” advertising and spend more time responding to Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign.

That’s a real shame.

The Bill and Jerry show had just started to get interesting. If you’ve haven’t seen the ads they’re on YouTube.

The ads were certainly different. Almost Kafkaesque in fact. The first thing that came to mind while watching the second advert, where Bill and Jerry are staying with an “average” American family, was the old joke about how many surrealists it takes to change a light bulb.

The answer of course, is “giraffe”, and before you could blink, the pair find themselves accused of stealing the family’s stuffed-toy leather giraffe. It doesn’t get much more surreal than that on regular TV these days.

Which is why I’m lamenting their demise. The second advert is a far better way to waste the three or four minute gap in our favourite car-chasing cop show than being shouted at by whichever department store is having a sale for stuff you didn’t know you needed.

True, the ads probably weren’t doing much for Microsoft’s bottom line, but then there aren’t many ads which can prove they achieve their goals. At least this series was quirky enough to keep you watching until the logo at the end.

Maybe Bill and Jerry can go freelance now, and start making ads for people who appreciate their sardonic talents. Let’s see now, where should they pitch their talents?

Probably can’t be a technology company, since Bill is too well known in that market.

And he doesn’t look like the kind of guy you’d ask for an opinion on your new car.

And Jerry always takes a taxi. Maybe they could get some work pushing alternative energy.

Their message so far was nothing if not alternative. Or perhaps they could just do adverts for charities – it’s not like either of them is short of a dollar.

But they’d probably have more impact if they just wrote the charities a huge cheque.

I guess we’ll never see them on screen together again, but despite the abundant criticism of their efforts, I’ll bet nobody is hanging out to see the next regular boring Microsoft advert.