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“Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That…..

September 18, 2008 BY Mark Evans

but the Bill (Gates) and Jerry (Seinfeld) show is apparently over.

After two memorable, quirky and definitely different television ads, Microsoft has decided to pull the plug on Gates and Seinfeld.

It’s a strange decision because you have to wonder how many layers within Microsoft had to approve the concept before it was finally allowed to see the light of day? Sure, the ads weren’t unanimously embraced but they attracted a lot of attention. And who’s to say they weren’t going to get better?

I’ll give Microsoft credit for trying something new and, to be honest, the ads had potential. Seinfeld was Seinfeld but he was outshone by Gates, whose stole the show as his sidekick. If the series had been given more time to evolve, it would have been fascinating to see Gates’ persona and public personality evolve.

So, I guess it’s back to the drawing board for Microsoft, which is spending $300-million on an advertising campaign to give itself a new image. And what of Seinfeld? If they’ve committed to paying him 10 million smackers, what’s he going to do now?

For more on the story of “Not that there’s anything wrong that that”, check out Wikipedia. For one last view of the Gates-Seinfeld show, here’s the first episode:

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  • E Guy

    Mark:

    You say:

    “It’s a strange decision because you have to wonder how many layers within Microsoft had to approve the concept before it allowed to see the light of day?”

    Not a strange decision at all. Ads were terrible, ineffective, and a waste of money. The “marketing genius’” at Microsoft ventured down a new path but reality set in when the public did not respond positively. You do not need to be brainiac to come to that conclusion. Obviously, Microsoft saw the numbers / public response and pulled the plug.

    Microsoft has made many smart business decisions (ya think?) but this advertising campaign was not one of them. At least, they quit while they were behind…and not any further behind with additional spending on this initiative.

  • http://www.Rarst.net Rarst

    Saying ads were terrible is generalization. They got enourmous amount of blog hype and lots of feedback was positive (especially after second one). If not success it’s still a result.

    It could work exactly because it wasn’t something expected from Microsoft.

    Well, it’s over so who cares…

  • http://www.jaxtr.com JimAtJaxtr

    I think the ads certainly didn’t work from a messaging point of view. I remember seeing one, and I was thinking, “What do they want me to do? Buy shoes? Buy chiarros?” However, it did catch my attention enough to make me tell my brother about that (ie word of mouth buzz). Over time, it could have been interesting to see what they could do with a series, but obviously that’s not going to happen now.