Seinfeld taking on Hodgman

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August 21, 2008

Seinfeld taking on Hodgman

Posted Aug. 21, ’08, 5:38 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Advertising

Seinfeld Microsoft has witnessed their marketshare erode as of late. Rather than perhaps identify Vista as the problem, they’ve decided that Apple’s Get a Mac advertisements as the cause. Clearly, John Hodgman has shown that comedians sell the OS. The most natural reaction is to grab Seinfeld to do some ads.

Their new attempt to bring users back into the fold is reportedly fueled by $300 million. Sounds serious. $10 million of that is going to Seinfeld. That’s not a bad fee for selling out after featuring Macs so long as his computer of choice in Seinfeld, the TV series.

Microsoft’s campaign, which the WSJ says will use some variation of the slogan “Windows, Not Walls,” appears to take a jab at Apple’s proprietary hardware and software products - namely the iPod and iTunes - and their inability to play nice with other products.

Ah, this makes perfect sense. Windows and related products are open, just as long as you use Windows. And a Windows powered music player. And a Windows powered phone or PDA. Seinfeld had better be funny enough to distract from the logic.

7 Comments

Don said:

What a perfect fit, a software company past its prime teams up with a comedian past his prime, brilliant! You hear that Joe Piscopo, start brushing up on your material, I smell a comeback.

August 21, 2008 6:50 AM

Catatonic said:

Is it just me or is it ironic that Jerry Seinfeld, who had a Mac on the desk of his apartment for the entire run of his TV show, will be in this Windows ad campaign?

August 21, 2008 6:55 AM

R. Daneel

said:

Wasn't Jerry (the sitcom character, at least, not necessarily the real guy) a Mac user? I thought there was a 20th Anniversary Mac on his desk for part of the run.

(A quick check of the Wikipedia link above shows I'm correct -- but it doesn't really prove anything, it could've just been the result of a production designer thinking it looked cool.)

August 21, 2008 7:44 AM

WinDoze said:

Windows have no walls indeed. It is Soooooo Friendly... it lets virus, spyware, keylogger in... after all, it's all about Wiindows, Not Walls.

August 21, 2008 8:01 AM

Greenscreen said:

True to form, MS just copies Mac.... again.

August 21, 2008 8:14 AM

Matt said:

"What's the deal with Apple computers? They're not really apples. You can't eat them. And apples are usually red; these are white.

Have you ever noticed the little "i" in iPod? What's the deal with that? Why not a big "I" and a little "p"? I don't get it.

Did you know that Steve Jobs' salary is $1 a year? What's the deal with that? How does he afford any of his own products? It doesn't make sense."

August 21, 2008 8:56 AM