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So I just saw the first Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft commercial.

I'm surprised they turned it around so quickly. It seems like weeks ago that word started floating around the web that they had arranged for Seinfeld to do these ads.

First, I think the tone of the ad is perfect. Playful and fun, not defensive or accusatory. They're not trying to challenge anyone or be argumentative. Personally, I don't like Seinfeld taking a gig doing a bunch of ads, especially ads for Microsoft, because essentially he's done nothing since his TV show and now he's getting a big payday for very little work. It's as if not only does he need to make ungodly amounts of money, but he can't be bothered to actually work for it. So a TV show - out of the question. But a 30 second spot for $10 million - sure. The other issue is that there was a Mac in his apartment for every episode of that show. There's a lot about this ad that reminds me of the TV show, so the association seems a little forced here. I guess we'll have to wait and see where they go with it.

That having been said, he's a good choice for Microsoft, at least as far as the quality of the ads is concerned. Seinfeld does a good job. He's funny and confident and there's just something about his delivery that works. And he's at his best when he's in a real world situation. I mean, the show was hilarious but I've seen his standup routine and like all other standup comics, 65% of it is just unfunny. Whether he's relatable or not to the audience that Microsoft is trying to reach, I don't know. I mean, I certainly get it, but whether an 18-24 or 25-year-old would, I can't say.

The commercial doesn't really make any kind of a statement - it's just entertaining. And that's appropriate because for all of the trouble Microsoft has gotten into with their aggressive business practices, they've never really tried to hard sell consumers. One of the reasons why Windows was successful as a server operating system is because they made it easy to get. At the time they were competing against Novell. Novell has always done a terrible job of getting their products into the hands of customers.

The client version of Windows is another example. People expect a copy of Windows with their Pc - it's been that way for a long time now. But there's no direct relationship there. So consumers are doing a whole lot of buying without Microsoft a whole lot of selling. And this commercial too is almost entirely lacking any sort of a sell. It's more like a Saturday Night Live skit than a commercial and nearly the exact opposite of the type of ads that Apple puts out, which feature products and often make somewhat specious claims, especially as of late.

When they first announced that Seinfeld was going to be doing the ads, there was a lot of talk about whether he was the right person. Is he too old to appeal to a younger demographic? And regardless of age, he hasn't been on TV in a long time, so at this point you could say that he's not well known. But, at least for this ad somebody younger wouldn't have worked. Bill Gates isn't exactly a young guy and pairing him with some 20-something hip comedian or musician or actor probably wouldn't go over very well. It would emphasize too much that Microsoft is an old company representing the status quo. Ironically, I think the ad might be too clever for a lot of people. It's not blatant enough. There's no dumb joke with a punchline. So if anything, I think they've gone over the heads of their target audience. Generally, I think they did a good job but it's stronger at the beginning and sort of peters out at the end. They could have done a much better job with the last bit showing Gates and Seinfeld walking through the parking lot - more specifically, the dialog there should have been much better.

As expected people are ridiculing the ad. It's such an obvious reaction that I would hope that Microsoft and the ad agency responsible for it anticipated this response. People are certainly talking about it. If that was the goal then they can consider it a win. I think it's a little unfortunate that people won't appreciate the nexus of all things Seinfeld and Microsoft in this spot. I've already touched on some of these ideas so I'll just add a couple of more.

The ad plays very much like an episode of the show Seinfeld, which was famously 'a show about nothing'. Just like the show, we have an ad about nothing. It worked for the TV show, so why not the ad? Before you decide that the idea doesn't apply to advertising because the point of a sitcom like Seinfeld is simply to entertain but ad needs to make a case for the product, service, or whatever it is that's being sold, remember the Seinfeld American Express ads from a few years ago. Everyone loved those, and they didn't have a whole lot to do with American Express. Granted there was at least a blatent tag line at the end of commercial pushing Amex by delivering a well established slogan, but that's a minor point in my opinion.

Let's remember that commercials are not only made to sell products. They might instead promote an idea or popularize a brand. That's what we have here. What's for sale? It's not the Zune music player, Office, Vista, or the just released Internet Explorer 8. So what is on offer then? It's Microsoft itself. My guess is that Microsoft has decided, and quite correctly, that the current backlash of anti-Microsoft sentiment has less to do with the products than it does Microsoft the company. The products are as compelling as they ever have been; Love them or hate them there is nothing about the current generation of Microsoft products to change your opinion. Vista might be the single best example of this. (there are certainly many others from IE to the Zune). There is little if anything about Vista deserving of the criticism that the product has received considering that XP and Windows 98 before it were both embraced by businesses and consumers alike. Vista is an evolutionary upgrade to XP, at least as far as the user experience is concerned. What is unique about Vista can be almost completely undone to the point where it's possible to achieve an experience very similar to XP, which is apparently so popular that customers are demanding that it remain available from Microsoft and its OEM partners.

But, as I've already said, that was assuming there was something to like about Windows in the first place. The same sort of public sentiment based on misconception, misunderstanding of the technologies, market share, and really superstition more than anything else and unfounded bias, all of which amounts to nothing more valid than superstition, honestly, that has benefited Microsoft especially for the past decade or so, has finally gotten away from them and turned. So now Microsoft finds itself fighting the same sort of sentiment. It must be frustrating for them.

Given all this, I think they're doing the right thing with these ads, assuming that the continue in this direction with it. Ultimately, they need to make some kind of sense. They may have billed Seinfeld as the show about nothing, but it in fact was the show that succeeded by turning seemingly nothing into something special. That's what Microsoft need to do with these ads. They've gotten a good start.