TV viewers can return to their favorite programs without fear of seeing Bill Gates shaking his tushie now that Microsoft Corp. has retired a bizarre two-week-old ad campaign featuring the software giant’s chairman with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
Bloggers and online media have suggested that the Redmond, Wash.-based company yanked the Seinfeld ads after they were poorly received. The ads show Gates and Seinfeld trading banter at a mall shoe store and while living with a suburban family, trying to get in touch with regular people. Seinfeld asks Gates nonsensical questions about the future of computing, and Gates responds with “signs” that he’s on the right track, including “adjusting his shorts,” as Seinfeld called the awkward hip shake, and doing “the robot,” a dance move.
However, a senior vice president in Microsoft’s central marketing group, Mich Mathews, contended in an interview Thursday that it was always the plan to replace the Seinfeld-Gates ads with ones that focus on Windows.
“The notion that we’re doing some quick thing to cancel (the Seinfeld ads) is actually preposterous,” Mathews said. “Today was always the day. … Media buying is something you have to do months in advance.”
Mathews described the three Seinfeld spots as ice breakers with a limited shelf life, designed to grab people’s attention in a tongue-in-cheek way without the pressure of having to talk about the product.
“We wanted to be sure that when we do come out with our major message, today, ‘Life Without Walls,’ more people would be paying attention than they would otherwise,” Mathews said. “My goodness, did we do that.”
The Windows-focused campaign attempts to turn Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads on their head. A new TV ad set to debut during “The Office” on NBC Thursday evening begins with a Microsoft engineer who looks like the PC character in Apple’s ads saying “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” He’s followed by a montage of real-life PC users, celebrities and Microsoft Windows engineers who all repeat the “I’m a PC” mantra.
Microsoft also has ads queued up for print, Web and public spaces that focus on the way Windows, Windows Mobile, Microsoft’s Live services and its TV platform connect.
The $300 million campaign was designed by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Microsoft said the company is “exploring options” with Seinfeld for new ads, but that no ads beyond the three that aired have been filmed so far.
Director Angie Bird Joins Scheme Engine For U.S. Representation
Scheme Engine has added director/photographer Angie Bird to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and original content.
Bird crafts deeply human and charismatic portrayals of community, empowerment and the rituals of celebration across commercials, elevated documentary and short film. A former agency creative, Bird has a body of brand work consisting of cinematic lifestyle campaigns for Nike, Dove, Allstate, Procter & Gamble and the YMCA, among others. Prior to joining Scheme Engine, Bird was most recently represented in the U.S. for commercials by production house Curfew.
Two years into her career, Bird back in 2016 won a Cannes Young Director Award for “Mean Tweets,” a provocative campaign for Raising the Roof, that challenged stereotypes of unhoused individuals with striking humanizing portraits. The project earned honors at the Clios, and Webbys and was shortlisted at Cannes.
Her Gillette campaign, “First Shave”--a heartfelt examination of masculinity in the trans community--earned three Cannes prizes and won honors at the Clios and The One Show.
As a director invested in films that ignite conversation, and inspire action, Bird embraces challenging, overlooked stories, bringing to light complex, authentically heroic characters faced with cultural stigmatization and gender-based discrimination. She co-wrote and directed "Short Life Stories" for White Ribbon and Canadian agency Bensimon Byrne--a shattering call to dismantle transphobia, following the journey of a transgender woman as she steps into her authentic life. The campaign won six awards at One SCREEN 2024, including Best in Region: North America and Best in Show
“I’m inspired,” affirmed Bird, “to create stories that champion the... Read More