According to Microsoft underlings, the move was planned. Of course this had nothing to do with the tepid reviews that the two Seinfeld-Gates adverts received.
Naturally it was all part of Microsoft’s core strategy: pay a fat fee to an aging comedian to bewilder the public with two offbeat adverts, and then (wait for it) introduce an entirely new campaign (deemed “Phase 2″ by Microsoft Marketing Big Knobs) to “reposition the PC”. Ah, it all makes sense now.
“It did what it needed to do,” said Rob Reilly, partner and co-executive creative director at Crispin Porter in Boulder, Colo., and Miami. “People who got it, got it.”
OK, time for a headcount:
- People who got it: 52 Crispin Porter employees
- People who didn’t get it: 6,724,363,978
“Phase 2″ of the campaign is allegedly a direct retort to Apple’s successful dig at Microsoft. The phrase “I’m a PC” will serve to “set up the notion [that] the real PC is not necessarily who we’ve been portrayed as” in the Apple ads. It sounds like a defamation suit doesn’t it? 
I think this is where Microsoft miss the boat – Apple didn’t get personal, they got clever…
“Phase 2″ is a great name for “Plan B” isn’t it?
And what about Jerry Seinfeld? The official word is:
“Jerry is a friend of the agency and Microsoft,” Mr. Reilly of Crispin Porter said. “You like to keep your friends close — and your enemies closer.”
RIP Jerry Seinfeld’s career, 1976-2008.
Tags: advertising, Apple, apple inc, Apple Mac OS X, Bill Gates, brand perception, Crispin Porter, I am a PC, I'm a PC, Jerry Seinfeld, marketing, microsoft advert, Microsoft advertising, microsoft phase 2, rip jerry seinfeld, technology
