In a move to compete with Apple’s attention-getting “Mac vs PC” ads that spotlight Apple’s so-called coolness factor, Microsoft is looking to comedian Jerry Seinfeld to pep up its advertising.
The $300 million advertising campaign will star Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, according to The Wall Street Journal. Based on the theme “Windows Not Walls,” the series aims to shed a more favorable light on Windows Vista.
Launched by Microsoft’s new ad agency, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the campaign is set to debut Sept. 4 and will be one of Microsoft’s largest ad blitzes. Crispin is credited with turning around Burger King’s image.
The series will put about $10 million into Seinfeld’s pocket.
“Jerry Seinfeld is an extremely talented individual. I don’t know that he’s necessarily
associated with technology,” said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft. “But maybe Seinfeld can help. I’ve never been impressed with a Microsoft ad. They are not memorable.”
A Beleaguered Vista
Windows Vista hasn’t exactly hit the home run Microsoft had hoped. In fact, many complaints have been leveled against the software giant’s latest operating system based on a poor user experience, heavy hardware requirements, and too many security hoops.
As Microsoft’s largest profit center — Windows generated 28 percent of the company’s $60.4 billion in revenue for the year ended June 30 — the company has seemingly decided to take drastic steps to reverse the poor perceptions.
Microsoft may have the lion’s share of the operating-system market, but Apple is gaining ground with 7.8 percent of new PC shipments in the U.S. running Mac OSX in the second quarter, according to IDC. That compares to 6.2 percent in the year-ago period. In Mac terms, that means Apple sold 41 percent more Macs than it did a year earlier while Windows PC shipments only gained 15.3 percent,…