Too big for their boots? Seinfeld helping Microsoft find the right fit.

 

 

New Seinfeld ad helping Microsoft find the right fit.

by SoftwareGuru
posted Wednesday 10th September 2008 10:12 GMT

If the objective of a successful advertising campaign is to get people talking, then the new series of Microsoft ads featuring Seinfeld have hit the nail on the head. To understand why though we need to look at the ad in context.

Market Leader VS The Alternative Upstart

Ever since the phenomenal success of the iPod, Apple's standing among tech and computer users has risen dramatically. Apple's branding suited the iPod's image of being edgy, exuberant and artistic. It is the Pepsi cola of its market and has done very well out of that image. 

This has coincided with Microsoft's Vista taking a critical battering despite much of the issues simply being down to user preconceptions (ie. the online equivalent of old wives' tales) as the Mojave Experiment showed. Which brings us to Seinfeld...



Seinfeld helps Microsoft find the right fit Re-establishing itself as the reliable choice.

At first, the idea of Bill Gates buying shoes doesn't exactly say 'buy Microsoft Vista'. What has this got to do with, well...anything?

However, this is extremely clever marketing.

Having grabbed your attention, the messages start to come across. We can all relate to having a familiar pair of reliable, comfortable shoes that we love to wear. That idea ties in nicely with the values and attributes of being the market leader and similarly to Coke, what Microsoft themselves represent.

Vista, arguably, is nothing more than a new pair of shoes which we need to wear in before they can become that familiar pair we know and love.

Of course some edge or moment of wackiness, even for comedy value, can be useful for the market leader which is why there's a five second clip (and ad highlight) of Seinfeld standing in the shower wearing his shoes. The joke being he's helping them fit better. Users of Microsoft software won't have to go to such lengths.

There's also the in-joke of 'are Microsoft getting too big for their boots?' which given the amount of criticism the company faces online on a daily basis is both clever and amusing.

Let's all hope Bill can get the shoes to fit without having to film his own shower scene in the next ad! 		Microsoft Vista: Finding The Right Fit

Too big for their boots? We discuss new Microsoft ad series featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. Watch the ad and read more here.

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