Gates / Seinfeld Microsoft Ad is Money Out the Windows

Brad Brooks, the corporate vice president for Windows consumer product marketing at Microsoft, said this 90-second ad was merely a "teaser." I think it was just a huge waste of money.

Ironically, the world's biggest philanthropist, who meticulously contributes billions to global development and health initiatives through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, could have put his enormously valuable time (and Microsoft's big bucks) to way better use.

Let's say this effort, fully loaded, ran a cool ten mil. Bill Gates knows as well as anyone that a donation of that magnitude through an organization like Project Mosquito Net could literally supply one million insecticide-treated bed nets to impoverished Africans, and keep lots of kids from needlessly dying of Malaria.

Brooks said Microsoft wants to "engage customers in a conversation and dialogue in a humorous and intriguing way." Gates' adbuddy, superrich comic Jerry Seinfeld is funny, but aside from the ambiguous promise of a "delicious" future, I didn't see the point of this thing.

Did you?

Comments

[John Sturtevant]

RR,

Seems to me, Microsoft hopes they'll shed their Evil Empire image and mind meld with Gen Z buyers who want a healthy treat they can grab and go. Everyone knows Apple are crisp, sweet, & easy to eat. Have you slid your tongue over an iPhone lately?

[Rob Wilson]

This is a very lame teaser. I prefer adverts to standalone even if it is part of a series. Shame it could have been so good with that double act.

[Robert Rosenthal]

Johnny: If they wanted to mind meld with Gen Z, why didn't they use the Jonas Brothers or Jay Z?

Hope Ike turns away from Houston.