After only two weeks on the air Microsoft has canceled its latest commercial series starring Jerry Seinfeld and the company’s founder Bill Gates. The ads were supposed to be a direct response to Apple’s latest campaign that pits a cool dude who uses an Apple against a square, stuffy guy who is in the Microsoft camp.
Now, depending upon whom you believe, the commercials were canceled either because they were getting poor traction among viewers, or it was Microsoft’s plan all along.
The company claimed the plan was to release the Jerry/Bill spots and then have them give way to a more traditional commercial. Others said the ads were terrible and were dumped.
Personally, I found them somewhat entertaining even though they had nothing to do with computers, software or Microsoft. Or perhaps that is why I liked them. I find it hard to believe a company would hire a major star like Jerry Seinfeld for a two-commercial gig, but what do I know?
It’s really too bad about the series, though. Any commercials starring Gates should be pretty good. I’ve watched him do some pretty funny things at International CES. The guy has a self-deprecating sense of humor and can deliver lines pretty well. Matching him with Seinfeld was pretty smart, too. The spots should have worked.
But what is worse is that by canning the spots, Microsoft appears to have folded against Apple.
