Ever since XP went "off sale", Microsoft has been referring to its client software as "Windows".

All I can say is that I'm apparently in the wrong business. If *this* is what people will lay down $300 million for, then I'm leaving far too much on the table.

Truly pathetic.

Hmmmm. Firefox 3 on Windows won't play the video. I can step through it by dragging the timeline but it won't play. So with a little help from Download Helper, I saved it and tried RealPlayer. Same thing: it wouldn't play. I could drag the timeline and step through it, but it just wouldn't play. Windows Media Player wanted me to upgrade for some reason or other. Yeah, I always go to the coffee shop and ask for a coffee and expect them to try and sell me the latest John Deere Coffee Harvester.

So then I opened it in good ol' VLC, and voila! It played!

But don't worry, Joe. The video didn't make me feel stupid. It made me view Jerry and Bill as if all their money has gone to their heads, and their brains are locked away in a secure remote vault for safe-keeping.

Jerry asked when we would get tasty cake computers. And Bill wiggles his butt to confirm. But what Jerry didn't realize (his brain being safely in that vault, apparently) is that Bill's software is tasty but it's not cake... it's dog food. Don't Bill and Steve rant on about Microsoft eating its own dog food? Well, there you have it, Jerry. Windows is dog food. And it must be tasty because Microsoft eats it all the time, according to Bill and Steve! Bon appetite!

@Duffbert:
Exactly! And, I really like your web site! Thanks for providing the link to it.

For $300 Million... the commercials could have been done creatively, but we are talking Microsoft here...

Maybe another $300 Million is needed, after all just tack the cost of the commercials onto the next operating system's retail price.

Sell Windows 7 Premium Extreme Media Home Edition Full Install for $499, yea... thats the ticket!

"Take my Vista!...please!"

Don't panic folks, as you know, Microsoft lives on Service Packs.

According to my inside sources at Redmond, Microsoft will be releasing SP1 for "Shoe Circus."

The new SP1 RC1 will first be released to the public sometime around late 4th quarter of this year. The SP1 RC1 will address the non-existent humor and will be fixed and a tighter focus will be brought upon Windows Vista rather than Bill Gates' backside.

"With the problematic media-centric comedy kernel and some associated dll's, we are able to optimize the DUMMIES (Digital Utilization Memory Management Integrated Engine System) with the MS-IDIOTS (Microsoft Integrated Digitized Inertia Output System) that is responsible for the overall media campaign in raising the public's overall awareness with Vista more efficiently with this new Release Candidate." Ted Whatshisface, CIO of Shoe Circus Division, Microsoft.

I also heard a rumor about Microsoft's movement against Google's Chrome. Yup, that's right, remember guys, I brought it to you first when it breaks, its called "RUST."

More about that later!

Personally I felt people are 'reacting' a bit to this with the 300 million expectation firing at Microsoft...

This certainly is the first to kick start something... positive or not I guess we will have to see what's next but suspect it's a bit too early to base a failure just on one commercial.

Those agency / Microsoft I hope have a full idea / script / story to tell and this is probably the best way to lead up to that eventually...

One can only hope it is...

Patience.. This is just the start. They cleverly got acceptance for the meme that 'Bill is one of us' via the shoe store, and shoehorned (sorry!) in the idea that Bill and MS have huge brains.

Given the cards they have to play with - Bill is Ivy League Rich, Vista is crap, MS is agressive, and MS are morons - its a good start to a longer story. This will unfold..

Anyone spot the photo in the clown card ? Its his police mugshot. Nice.

And hey. If you want to complain about crap marketing - feel sorry for Lotus Notes guys like us.

---* Bill

You see, that's the beauty of this advertising campaign--everybody KNOWS it's about Dimdows Vista, so they don't actually have to mention it. It's perpetually in the back of the viewer's mind, wondering when they're actually going to use the V-word, and so the association is automatically being made, no need to even bring it up.

Sheer genius. And such a bargain, at only USD300 million...

And when Apple releases their next big thing, just be patient: Microsoft is working on edible computers.

I think this advert completely sums up MS.

I believe they wanted to create something different to get people talking. What theyve done is really just encapsulate MS's attitude of being detached from the public in which it is apparently supplying software for.

Shoe Circus? At least that part of the advert is relevant to MS. Its been a circus since Windows 98. So much so that even a cartoon picked up on it (Southpark the movie) For a vulgar cartoon to be able to pick holes in a corporation shows that MS's stupidity and incompetance really did hit the "mainstream"

There is no class to be found in the MS advert, no confidence in any product, and the whole advert seems a metaphor for the Vista operating system - A big, unfunny joke.

The irony is that Jerry had a Mac sitting in the background of his apartment.

wouldn't MSFT's $300 mil be better spent demolishing windows & forcing MSFT to rebuild the next version from the kernel up? maybe take that hard step that apple did by cutting off backwards compatibility.

then they could go to a container format for programs (i.e. no more registry. it's an antiquated idea)

Al is sure the readers could come up with a huge laundry list of things that need fixing or improvement in windows

This is actually a perfect advert for Windows. One size fits all. It might not be good when you first buy it, but after a lot of tweaking, squeezing, bending and pain you too can actually get something that almost fits for a very cheap price. You might have to wear them in the shower, but thats what everyone does!

The message is do not pay for quality shoes like Apple or custom shoes like Linux, we can cram you into a cheap pair of shoes and make you look like a real Conquistador!

Too bad Rodney Dangerfield is around anymore.

"I get no respect, no respect at all...just like Vista!"

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Another idea..., have a commercial with Ballmer throwing a chair at a Mac computer.

" You can break a Mac, but Windows will never shatter!"

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Too bad Johnny Carson isn't around anymore, he could have done his classic Karnac routine.

The question

What costs over $200, needs a lot to perform, takes awhile to get ready, and has issues?

1. A used car.

2. Ex wife.

3. Vista

Watch the commercial again, only this time realize that Windows is the shoes.

I want to see the commercial now to see how bad it is. I did see another one last night, but it was a "focus group" of users on the next Windows platform a and how much they liked it. The focus group was told at the end of the commerical that this was Vista and not the next iteration of Windows. Weak.

Its nothing like the funny Mac guy vs PC guy ads. I am not a Mac user, but the Mac commercials are funny and entertaining at the same time.

I would like to see a Windows commercial with Andre de Blah Blah. At the end of the commerical Andre de Blah Blah can show how a Vista laptop can walk (or float) on water. That would be entertaining.

Just kidding Andre, your a great guy! :-)

Its horrible, I agree.

"Watch the commercial again, only this time realize that Windows is the shoes."

Yes, I think that became clear.

But why should we? Its obvious that Windows Vista is no good, otherwise they wouldnt have to pimp it this way.

If Windows Vista was in any way a decent piece of software, the facts would have spoken for themselves, MS could have had a sensible advert just stating the facts. They wouldnt have to try to be funny. MS already has the customer base, so the advert could have just concentrated on what Vista actually does. Not a double meaning piece of unfunny advertising.

I also dont think it helps having Bill Gates in the advert. Hes hardly got the charisma to sell anything.

The ironic thing is Seinfeld basically asks when is Microsoft going to release an operating system that doesn't suck (moist and chewy). Its sad for MS that this question is asked by their own commercial after 5 years of prepping Vista.

Whats even funnier, is that the Microsoft fanboys that post here, cant even defend the advert either.

That must mean it seriously blows if even the diehard bloatfans cant rush to Microsofts defense.

This advert for me was probably the best thing Microsoft could have done. I dont mind large corporations, I am not a Linux user to "put one in the eye of MS" I am a Linux user because it works, and works better + its free.

If MS released products that were actually good, instead of forcing people to have them via pre-installations on retail machines, then Id probably be a Windows user and not a Linux one.

Keep it up Microsoft, theres a large community now seeing the funny side of your commercial. Unfortunately its not in the way you wanted.

Wow. Microsoft couldn't have played it any better. You're all talking about this ad, which is exactly what Microsoft's agency wanted, I'm sure. This story mentions that this is a viral ad, but then goes on to ignore what a viral add really _is_.

These people aren't stupid. They know what they're doing. And if you think this ad represents a significant fraction of the $300 million/$10 million being spent, then you don't understand how such things work.

There will be more. Mark my words.

Microsoft is heading going down. Ex-boss Gates and ex-comedian Seinfeld stinked in this.

But, I wanted to buy more shoes!

There was a commercial marketing theory back a few decades ago that believed that bad commercials were sometimes more memorable than average ones. So if the commercial really stunk, but did not impinge on the reputation of the product itself, it might be a success.

But I see the fact that "windows" is mentioned and "vista" is not, as very significant. The question has to be asked, "is Microsoft ashamed of Vista, and have they given up on it and moved on?" I think the commercial, with its mention of "windows," is the start up to remind us of the upcoming "windows seven." As Windows will be a part of the word of the windows seven product. Then again, it could be seen as just a generic windows commercial. It certainly did not do anything to dispel the superior Mac commercials.

All in all, a waste of the talents of comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

@Douglas S. Taylor, thanks for the humor.

@chips

No problem -- Glad you enjoyed it =;o)

We are all talking about it, so didn't the ad accomplish that. It's infected us with it's viralness.

I must admit I'm still waiting for Microsoft to hire Colbert to be their mac attack dog in a funny way. I'd say he'd be the only one they could use against hodgeman's hilarious ads (justin long is very expendable, substitute any overpaid slacker for him). I say colbert and set green as the microsoft pair :)

Well, if you need help figuring it out, let me take a stab at it.
The story so far has been told by Apple. The characters are PC and Mac. PC is the office guy in the suit, the stiff. Mac is the young cool hipster. What's implied is that if you have use Windows, you're a stiff, if you use a Mac, then you'll be cool. So far this has worked pretty darn well.
But how does Microsoft respond to that? They can't come out and say "No, use Windows and you'll be cool." That's just fighting a losing argument. So where I think they're going with this is that they're going to keep the characters, but change the premise. The premise is going to be that the Mac version of cool (aka, the slacker hipster) is really just stupid.
In the Shoe Circus add, Bill Gates is shopping at a discount shoe store. He can buy any shoe anywhere in the world, but he's shopping where we shop. The hispanic family outside know about the shoe he is trying on. It's the same shoes they wear. Bill Gates is PC in this commercial.
The message isn't that if you use a PC, you'll be cool. It's that what Apple is promising as "cool" really isn't for everyone. Joe Wilcox, you're a PC, not a Mac. Look at that picture you have of yourself on all your posts. Nobody is going to mistake you for being the cool guy in the room. Now, Apple is saying, if you use a Mac, then you'll be cool. You can sit in Starbucks and sip a latte while wearing your gucci shoes and you'll be hip.
Microsoft is going with the idea that you should accept who you are and be proud of that. Apple may be for those elitist cool people, but Windows is for the rest of us. Windows is for the people who shop at Walmart, drink domestic beer, and buy their shoes from a discount shoe store.
Microsoft will be coming out with more of these ads and they're going to revolve around the same thing. It doesn't matter if your a PC, because you're not alone. Most of us are PCs and that's perfectly fine. You don't want to be some snooty, design obsessed elitist anyway. You just want to be your average, down to earth self. You just want to shop at a Shoe Circus, just like Bill Gates.

Qoute Mark "Wow. Microsoft couldn't have played it any better. You're all talking about this ad, which is exactly what Microsoft's agency wanted, I'm sure. This story mentions that this is a viral ad, but then goes on to ignore what a viral add really _is_."

Well, if talking about it in a derogatory sense and drawing parallels with the stupidity of the ad and the shortsightedness of Vista, then yes Mark I agree its a great ad.

Is it making people want a MS product? I wouldnt think so and talking about the ad wont make MS any money, so how is MS a winner out of this?

They would have been better making an ad stating facts that were a load of lies, at least it might have suckered a few people. To the majority who "get it" it just further proves how out of touch MS is.

Maybe this type of success Mark, is why Vista is such the best seller it is? and maybe now more than at any time in the past, people are looking at alternatives.

As I said before, people are talking, and laughing, just not in the way MS would have wanted.

I saw the commercial with my wife last night on TV. I couldn't figure out what was going on and was rather baffled, but she couldn't stop laughing. Thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Perhaps the intent is more to associate MS to something less serious and humorous, just dial down the level of animosity towards MS rather than really sell anything. Everyone has to buy Vista when they buy a new PC whether they like it or not (at least for most of us that buy sub thousand dollar notebooks at big box retailers), so just don't hate MS as much for it.

Goblin: Okay, my apologies: I didn't mean to imply that the readers of Microsoft Watch are the ad's real target. You're (we're) not, of course, any more than you're (we're) the target of Apple's Mac vs. PC ads.

What Microsoft is trying to do, I'm sure, is appeal to the average person whose only understanding of Windows, and Vista, and the Mac, is based on what they read in the popular press. If they have any real thoughts about them in general. And the popular press's coverage of Vista has been, of course, uniformly negative, informed in some measure by the rantings of the tech press.

In short, while you and I might have negative reactions to the ad, I'm guessing that Microsoft really doesn't care. Our conceptions about Vista are probably already set, and won't be influenced by this campaign no matter what.

Indeed, I have some coworkers who are adamant that Vista is absolutely terrible, when I know for a fact from extensive conversations with them that they've never actually used Vista themselves. In fact, when they see me using Vista on my systems, they insist that I'm having problems that I'm simply not experiencing.

They'll ask me, "How can you use an OS that crashes all the time?" when in fact my MacBook Pro crashes more often than do my Vista systems. They'll say, "I can't believe you use such a slow OS" when, in fact, my Vista systems run just fine. I mean, I'm getting all my work done without any undue delays, on everything from a Dell Latitude XT with a U7600 (ULV 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo) to a Dell XPS 420 with a Q6600 quad-core. Vista is neither faster nor slower in getting real work done than my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.5.4.

Those guys are simply far too set in their (rather uninformed) opinions. Nothing Microsoft does is going to change that, particularly given that Vista really isn't as bad as it's been made out to be.

Smist08 "everyone has to buy Vista when they buy a new PC whether they like it or not (at least for most of us that buy sub thousand dollar notebooks at big box retailers), so just don't hate MS as much for it."

Yep MS have succeeded with you. Congratulations, you are brainwashed.

Oh course there are plenty of options. The UK market is small, however there are at least 3 manufacturers offering a sub £500 Linux system. In addition you an demand a "clean" system when you buy a new PC. Or better than that build your own.

I bet MS are laughing their ass off reading your comment. They'd love everyone to have the "theres no alternative to Windows, everyone has to have it, Ill just settle with it" attitude.

Sorry guys for the double post, but Mark, you must have been responding as I was typing.

Firstly thanks for the reply. I coherently reasoned piece of text. If I may quote you for a minute:" Vista really isn't as bad as it's been made out to be. "

I think this is the problem. No XP/Vista isnt as bad as people make out. For out of the box hardware support, mainstream penetration and popularity the Windows OS is way ahead of Linux. No argument. However this is where I have the problem.

I consider myself in a position to be fair, I use Vista at work (for DX10 development) and I have Linux only systems at home. The problem with Windows is because of the following:

Windows has achieved popularity with the average user. If I came up to you and said "to run that piece of software you need a faster processor" you would first question that statement, and rightfully so. The average user, who doesnt have the knowledge would blindly follow and upgrade.
This is why Windows has been allowed to become what it is today, a bloated, CPU inefficient piece of binary slop. I would put money on Windows being very different, if the thirst for more processing power and resources hadnt happened as quickly as it has.

With that in mind, we are at a stage now, where a complete upgrade of the average system just to run the OS is considered acceptable. Maybe its me being unreasonable thinking that an OS is something which should be an unobtrusive piece of code that silently frees up your resources and launches all your other applications.

I think the credit crunch is one of the things that is making people re-think their investments, both at home and in business.

True, Vista does not crash on everyones machine all the time, but then neither should it. Its a commercial program which people are paying money for. What about the users who are not as lucky as you and have to wait for a service pack to sort out problems with a system that is not performing to the level they expected when they bought it.

Say what you like about Linux, but its free. If I pay for something I expect it to work as advertised, and nobody that Ive spoken to has had a painless Vista experience.

All the marketing experts online (hmmm...can a tech journalist like Wilcox also be a marekting genius? probably not) are showing their lameness. If Microsoft were trying to somehow out-Apple Apple they'd fail and look rediculous doing it. What they seem to be doing - and it seems smart to me - is to look human, poke a little fun at themselves and stay true to their geek nature. They aren't cool. They won't be cool. They don't need to be cool. They can leave cool to the black turtleneck wearing I'm cooler than you'll ever be mac fanboys. What MSFT needs to be is human, true to themselves, and explain why Microsoft and Windows are relevant to the lives of hundreds of millions of people all around the world -far more than have ever seen a Mac. It's obvious this ad wasn't created to "sell" Windows Vista. Duh. That'll probably come at some point...in a non-salesy way. Other than creating a "we're cool" ad, the dumbest thing they could have done was launch this campaign with an ad talking about a bunch of features in Windows Vista. That's not the point.

PS. All the jabbering among the cognecenti seems to show that they're accomplishing their initial goal - to get people talking. Hmmm...sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

Mark Ashton, you also have seemed to skirt around my point nicely.

How can talking about MS in a derogatory way as a result of this ad, help MS? Will it make them money?

If this marketing idea is so great, why now, more than at any time in the past are people considering alternatives to the Windows OS.

This has been MS's problem all along, they dont understand what people want. I couldnt care less if MS is geeky or cool, I couldnt care less if MS is seen as human or not. All I want is a reliable, fast, compact & functional OS. This is obviously too much to ask of MS and why, like so many other people I dont use a Windows OS.

Again I ask you, how does this type of talk even remotely promote MS in any possitive way. My father has now become interested in Linux after people "talking" about MS, and is now considering if there is a better alternative to Windows.

Mark, if you believe this is positive to MS, then I hope it continues, we may never get to see Windows 7.

Goblin - do you think the actual targets for Microsoft's campaign are spending their morning trolling blogs on the topic? I have news for you: you're not the target. They're trying to reach the everyday people...the masses...the people who actually buy PC's. They're not trying to taret the tech-obsessed or the black turtleneck waring "I'm cool" crowd. If you were in business who would you want to reach? The very small number of Linux users, the small but slightly larger number of Mac users or the billions of people who are open-minded? Duh.

Yes, I agree it was almost stupid, but there are too much at stake, I will be waiting still.

apparently, the idea is rather than change the Vista perception technically, reasoning or comparisons, is hide it, in an atmosphere of liking (positive feelings)

By the way, it's exactly the sort of self-centeredness of the people ranting on this that Microsoft is trying to differentiate itself from. This ad MUST be about me and I DON'T LIKE IT! These ads are not targeted at the "me" generation. They're targeted at the "we" generation. It's very ironic...the PC and Windows are democratizing...they're cheap, any hardware company can build hardware for Windows...there's a huge amount of software available. Windows is for the everyman/woman. That appeals to me. But maybe just because I'm a bleeding heat liberal democrat.

Mark, first off Ill say that I like this site. It nice to have a debate with people who dont respond with obscenity or silly remarks. I hope everyone here does not take any of the debate personally, as I regard it as a heated discussion between sensible people. That being said (you know youre in for a hot reply now!!) here is my response:

Mark, I think you are being highly offensive to the "average" PC user to suggest that they will be suckered in by this silly campaign of MS. You seem to be suggesting that people will take whatever people say on face value. True, some may. I still dont believe the everyday people will either get nor care about this ad. As you say they are not the type of people to be tech-obsessed, and for them they will blindly accept a Vista installation as the only alternative.

But again, as I said before, todays market is a little different, certainly here in the UK with the credit crunch, and with the internet having so large a part of our lives, the average, everyday person is likely to get exposed to the alternative view.

You again insult people by suggesting that you need to be a techie to run Linux. Not true. Infact I had less problems installing a Ubuntu distro on a friends machine, than I did when I had previously installed Vista on it. Infact, unlike Vista, the only Ubuntu problem I had was getting his printer working.

You also seem to suggest that anti-windows posters dont understand business with "If you were in business who would you want to reach?" and this was my point all along, I wont knock MS for doing a bang up job of reaching the right crowd.

Please, answer my question, is it acceptable for people to be forced to upgrade their systems just to run an OS? We are not talking about if MS is a sucessfull business or not, we dont need to and I rescent that very simple attempt to belittle my point of view with "If you were in business who would you want to reach?".

What did you mean about "billions of people that are open-minded" you start by saying MS's silly ad campaign was aimed at the average user. If they have no knowledge about Linux or MacOS, how can they be open-minded?

Id love to hear your response.

I don't have enough time to respond to your comments in great detail but let me make a couple of quick points. First of all, I was in no way disparaging "average" or "everyman" PC users. They're not dumb. Most consumers are more than capable of making smart decisions about the products they buy. But they're also not looking at advertising with a reason to not like it; they either like it or ignore it. It either reaches them or doesn't.

Regarding your comments on MS forcing users to upgrade their systems...well, I don't see it that way. 99% of all PC users in the home NEVER upgrade their OS. They buy a PC with an OS on it...use it for as long as they want to...and then buy a new PC. There are a small number of PC/Mac users like you and me who do upgrade when their hardware can support it. In my case I have (geek city) 1 iMac which I did upgrade to Leopard, 1 newish PC that came with Vista installed, and one old Windows XP machine that I upgraded to Vista; the old system works ok for what we use it for: web surfing.

Goblin: First, I hope having so many different "Mark"'s posting isn't confusing everyone. Nevertheless...

I hate to say it, but Linux is very, very far from being a mainstream OS. When fixing something requires dropping to a command line, you know you have an OS that won't work for the average user. Who, by the way, isn't stupid by any means--he or she simply doesn't want to spend the time learning how to do such things.

The bottom line is: Vista is like every Windows version before it. Buy it with a new PC that was made for Vista, and unless the vendor has its own driver issues (as I've seen with some Lenovo notebooks, for example), then that system will run without a problem. Install Vista on an older system with insufficient resources and/or devices without solid drivers, and you'll have problems: just like with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, etc., etc.

The same is true for Apple, of course, only 1) you don't hear as much about OS X upgrade issues outside of the Mac community, because nobody but Mac users care, and 2) you wouldn't expect to see as many issue from Apple given that Apple controls the hardware as well as the software. ANY company could do a better job of releasing a new OS when they control the hardware as well as the software.

Where this ties back to the original point of this thread is that MS needs to convince the typical user that the current Windows from the current Microsoft is just fine and dandy. And, that won't be done by showing cool Vista features or talking about rock-solid reliability. The typical user doesn't think that way. And nobody is as good as gauging how best to influence the typical consumer as a good modern advertising firm.

But does MS need to advertise?

Your assumptions about Linux are wrong. Dropping into the terminal is certainly not something an Ubuntu 8.04 user will be doing, and if on the rare chance they do, its certainly better than a Vista alternative, where there is simply no compatibility or solution what so ever.

You say "Vista is like every Windows version before it. Buy it with a new PC that was made for Vista, and unless the vendor has its own driver issues (as I've seen with some Lenovo notebooks, for example), then that system will run without a problem."

The same is true with a pre-built Linux machine (Dell offer one), and to be honest I would expect nothing less, if I was paying for a new machine with pre-installed software, Id expect it to work.

You say "Where this ties back to the original point of this thread is that MS needs to convince the typical user that the current Windows from the current Microsoft is just fine and dandy."

No they dont, youve already said that Linux is not something the average user considers, and if a new machine comes pre-loaded with Vista then there is no decision for a user to make, and really their opinion on MS is irrelevant.

I mentioned this on the other entry, but if Microsoft was trying to become more "human" and more down to earth for the average user, why couldnt they have invested the money in helping its existing paying customers with their issues? Wouldnt this have been better publicity? Wouldnt this have been money better spent?

You say"Install Vista on an older system with insufficient resources and/or devices without solid drivers, and you'll have problems: just like with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, etc., etc."

So you blindly follow the MS line of upgrading your machine, because (and these words come from the Vista site not mine) upgrading is cheap enough. You have no problem in the OS dictating your system specs.

There is no way MS can win the argument, or win over the average user anymore. Have you checked Youtube or similar recently? The unrest with the average user is evident, and they are not bothered about MS's image, they just want functionality without having to constantly dip into their pockets. Its not much to ask is it?

In another sign that the Vista 300 million advertising blitz is no going to be enough to convince users that Vi$ta is the greatest thing since sliced bread;

HP falling out of love with Windows
http://vista.blorge.com/2008/09/05/hp-falling-out-of-love-with-windows/

Quotes from the link; "Hewlett Packard is reportedly looking at ways to either make Vista easier to use, or even creating its own operating system. The studies appear to be HP’s response to concerns of losing business to Apple in the low-priced notebook market.

According to BusinessWeek, there’s a faction among HP’s staff which is exploring the idea of a Linux-based operating system which would be exclusive to HP computers."
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The fact is that Apple is taking customers away from the the high end PC market where the OEM's make most of their profits, especially in the USA market. The disappointments of the Vista Operating System is chiefly what is responsible for this.

The damage that Vista has done to the Microsoft corporation cannot be undone. Only moving on to the release of Windows Seven could give MS some respite, if that product is a good improvement, and a better product than even XP. This will certainly mean eliminating DRM and some WGA features in Windows Seven, which you and I know, will never happen.

In the meantime, expect Mac to continue taking away market share from both Microsoft, and the OEM's that put Vista on their computers. Linux will also grow, albeit at a slower rate than Mac, but both Linux and Mac will continue to grow at the expense of Micro$oft.

Chips, I couldnt agree more with your comments.

It may be argued that we are "in the know" and therefore of no interest to MS, but the truth is Vista is so appalling that even the average user has something to say about it.

It is interesting to hear MS fanboys rave about how great Vista is when even MS themselves are starting to distance themselves from it and move on to Windows 7. I dont believe MS will recover to the point they have in the past after the Vista debacle, as once users have seen the alternatives, getting them back to a Windows OS will be difficult.

Others on here seem to think the average user is relatively stupid, and have implied that MS and this campaign will appeal to them, not true.

For years now the average computer user has been using their PC for games, which, unless the MS fanboys have failed to notice usually take quite a bit of tinkering to get to work on any Windows OS. It is because of this, the average computer user has had to become more savvy in order to run their games, and it is now why they are in a position to consider alternatives.

With the advert of the consoles being the answer to most multimedia at home, Windows no longer has the hook of "you need it to play games" and with users having to upgrade the PC for the latest games releases, the console is a more attractive option for the games player.

So we get to what the average PC user requires from an OS, that would be the basics of surfing, wordprocessing etc. This is something that the alternatives do just as well, if not better than Windows, and in some cases for free (linux) what benefit does Windows offer anyone other than the completely computer illiterate? and I think MS will find now that the computer illiterate group is a rather small one nowadays.

Sorry for the double post but I missed a comment by Mark because of another Marks comment.

Qoute "99% of all PC users in the home NEVER upgrade their OS. They buy a PC with an OS on it.."

Mark, Im not sure where that figure comes from, but Ill take it as fact at the moment. Youve hit my point exactly (and also failed to answer my question from before)

Why was this silly advert made then? If your figure is correct, MS dont need to worry about their image, because a new PC comes pre-loaded with Vista anyway. Ill ask again, who are they appealing to?

As I said before, (and was ignored) todays market is very different. There are stronger pressures financially on people, PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD TO UPGRADE ALL THE TIME, and why should they? Ive explained above why the average user these days is more savvy than ever before, and Ive also explained that the people who arent, dont have an option, when they buy a machine its with Windows.

So I ask again, why bother with this farce of an advert, wouldnt it be better PR to invest the money in getting the existing Vista problems sorted out for the PAYING customers? Obviously not and it appears MS would much rather try to move into the sitcom market than make sure their existing customers are satisfied.

Oh and by the way, Sienfield or whoever he is, has as much "market penetration" here in the UK as Linux. (Hes not that well known, and I certainly didnt know who he was until I researched him)

I hope the MS shareholders are happy with MS's venture into the world of comedy.

goblin :wrote

"Why was this silly advert made then? If your figure is correct, MS dont need to worry about their image, because a new PC comes pre-loaded with Vista anyway. Ill ask again, who are they appealing to?

As I said before, (and was ignored) todays market is very different. There are stronger pressures financially on people, PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD TO UPGRADE ALL THE TIME, and why should they? Ive explained above why the average user these days is more savvy than ever before, and Ive also explained that the people who arent, dont have an option, when they buy a machine its with Windows.

So I ask again, why bother with this farce of an advert, wouldnt it be better PR to invest the money in getting the existing Vista problems sorted out for the PAYING customers? Obviously not and it appears MS would much rather try to move into the sitcom market than make sure their existing customers are satisfied."

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I believe that Microsoft needed to finally address the Apple Commercials that lampoon Vista and Windows most of the time here in the U.S.

True, most people "upgrade" to the latest MSFT OS when they buy a computer. But MSFT also sells MS Office and other products too. Just because Vista isn't that popular....MSFT's other products still are...for now.

But MSFT also needed ...or felt that they needed to get their name "out there". There are other alternatives to MSFT products like Open Office that are starting to become popular. MSFT probably feels that since Vista (more or less) is a lame duck, maybe this ongoing campaign will lead up to the release of Windows 7.

Maybe MSFT wants us to believe the ad campaign is all Vista....when maybe its not. Personally I can't believe how dull the ad is. And that seems to give the perception (at least in my mind)....no innovative ad...no new innovative products.

With MSFT's money ...they can afford to piss the money away. Just one wonders..how come Ballmer wasn't in the ad? That old commercial Ballmer did for Windows 1.0 that is circulating on You Tube...would have been a great parody he could have re-done for Vista...

On a much happier note...in about a month and a half ...Ubuntu 8.10 will be here...at least we Linux fans have things to look forward to... :-)

Another great ad--for Macs! Just as Vista is a great ad for Macs.

My theory: Gates got Punk'd by a secret plan to further discredit (if possible) Microsoft. At some point, Ashton Kusher will jump up and announce to Bill that it was all a trick to get him to wiggle his butt in front of the world. The biggest trick was to get Microsoft to actually pay for their own Punk'ing. However, a precedent does exist. It's an old folk tale called "The Emperor's New Clothes". I also remember reading about numerous "skits" performed by Gates and other Microsoft leaders at meetings, in which they play-acted bizarrely inexplicable inanities, seeming to think they were being funny, or down-to-earth. So, ultimately, I'm not at all surprised that this insanely expensive ad is mind-numbingly bad. And the good news is, they can't fix it, any more than they can fix their corporate DNA.

Well, if the purpose of an adv. is to get people thinking/talking about the company and its products, maybe this could be considered a "success". Yeah, and if I had that $300mil maybe my long dead dog could do a better one...

You guys are horrible. It was a great piece of advertising! Two major powerhouses meeting to advertise... It was funny, creative, self deprecating (on Bill's part), and got its' point across! The ad made me laugh, and all you Vista-haters out there, I personally love Vista! Home Premium came with my laptop, and it works FLAWLESSLY!

If by FLAWLESS you mean that it works fine as long as you don't expect that hardware that ran fine on XP doesn't under VISTA (USB headset for example, that is supposed to work with core Windows sound device drivers) and apps that work great under NT but hang and must be restarted regularly on VISTA (even though supposedly they work with Vista -- BTW including MS Apps) and expect that a faster machine, with faster hard drive and more RAM would be slower to boot up, and other weirdisms ... then yeah ... Vista is just the ticket -- just like this ad must be for ya. BTW, I wish Micrsoft would pump $300M in to better support and bug fixes -- then I'd know that they are serious about there customers. Shooting commercials that tell me nothing and convince me of nothing are a total waste of everybody's time other than being another example that is truly indicative of how MS really feels about their customers.

Tim :wrote

"You guys are horrible. It was a great piece of advertising! Two major powerhouses meeting to advertise... It was funny, creative, self deprecating (on Bill's part), and got its' point across! The ad made me laugh, and all you Vista-haters out there, I personally love Vista! Home Premium came with my laptop, and it works FLAWLESSLY!"

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Did you see another commercial that we didn't?

Where can regular people get the shill (working and fast performance edition) edition of Vista?

Here is the email I sent to the advertising company:

Dear Sirs,

You just destroyed any value this Brand may have ever had with the public.

You should have run the Mohave Experiment Tapes.

Apple must be laughing their asses off and mocking this pathetic piece.

Ranks up there with the original and failed Infinity Car Ads. Remember,
rocks and streams? Apparently not.

Congratulations.

D.Logan
Round Rock, Texas

Demographic:

58 year old white guy running Microsoft Vista 64 bit Home Premium SP1 on a
Dell XPS410 with zero problems, issues or bugs.

A commercial about nothing.
For a product that offers nothing new.

Honestly I see nothing new/ingenious/groundbreaking in either of the debated operating systems.
I would like to see some real ingenuity offered by any OS maker.

@dennisl2008:
Good for you! Maybe they'll listen.

Remember the Isuzu motto, "Go farther"? In their TV ads, they used to animate the letters and fly them into position one at a time, in order. After my son and I had laughed at these ads for a while, I finally sent Isuzu an email that pointed out that their motto, while being spelled one letter at a time,

"G"
"Go"
"Go f"
"Go fa"
"Go far"

said, for one brief but distinct moment:

"Go fart"

It wasn't long before those ads disappeared, and I've never seen them again. (I'm not claiming it definitely was my email that woke them up; they never did bother to respond thank me for pointing this out to them. But the timing was eerily close.)

Maybe you'll get a similar effect, as long as there is intelligent life at the receiving end.

Honestly, it did make me laugh. It seemed like typical Jerry Seinfeld humor.

As for what I got out of it... well, I'm not sure what they were getting at. I think I'm just as stumped as the rest of you. Guess, I'll just have to keep my eye out for more info.

Maybe that's what the point was...

Discount shoe (Windows) is affordable and for everyone from all walk of life including the funny, hip and cool like Jerry Seinfeld, or the nerdy one like Bill Gates or even average Joe on the street like the family peeking through shopping windows. It would be ridiculous and snotty if Jerry Seinfeld had worn a pair of custumed designer shoe (MAC) to the shower. Discount shoe will work and stretch to accommodate every day activitites including wearing in the shower.
etc ....
Cheap shoe like cheap food does not mean not chewy and delicious. You can walk leasurely while eating a chewy and delicious ... without burnning a hole in your wallet

I can't believe you guys actually watch commercials! Shame on you!

You think the commercial is a failure? Look at all the talk that it is generating! This is its big success. People have noticed it and they are talking. As the wise old man said, any publicity is good, just spell my name right.