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Today I read about Microsoft’s new TV ad with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, which was aired for the first time during yesterday’s National Football League broadcast. I then went online looking for it and, as expected, quickly found it on YouTube:
Bloomberg reports that the ad campaign will cost Microsoft a total of $300 million. The campaign has been developed by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, an ad agency that has done work for Burger King and Coke before.
The big question is: What is this ad about? Sure, the Windows logo can be seen for almost one second at the end of the 90-second spot. Bill and Jerry didn’t talk a lot about it, though, did they? I’m sure Microsoft and CPB want the spot to work as a teaser trailer to get people talk about it or think about the great things MSFT will (possibly) put on the market in the future. For me, the ad just did not work. If the purpose has been to make Windows look more sexy and appealing to the Apple-loving customers, I’m sure it didn’t work for the target group, either.
So, is Microsoft wasting $300 million? Think of the truckloads of money MSFT could have made or the millions of targeted visitors the company would have driven to its websites via direct navigation traffic, if only they had chosen to invest the $300M in domain names. It’s out of the question that they’re getting a lot of exposure in return for their massive ad spending. Blogs and other media are busy discussing the TV spot already (look at me, here I am writing about it). But I still think the money has sort of gone to waste, because people do not know what the ad is about and I doubt it will help Microsoft fight against Apple’s newly-found sex appeal.
Buy domains. Buy a search engine. Buy an online advertising company. But don’t throw the money away to get Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld into a shoe store together. Looks to me like Microsoft has not been the master of its domain so far.
But to be fair, the campaign has only started yesterday. Maybe we will be seeing something innovative from Microsoft and its ad agency, after all. Fingers crossed!

Google released its “Chrome” browser today. It is available for download 




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