Seinfield's Back

For those of us that still get a chuckle out of Jerry and the gang's antics in reruns, we may enjoy his Microsoft ad campaign.

At least that's what they're banking on:

Microsoft enlists Jerry Seinfeld in its ad battle against Apple

Microsoft is turning to Jerry Seinfeld to star in a new $300m advertising campaign, one of the largest in the company's history.

Suzanne Vranica And Robert A. Guth
21 August 2008 06:45

Microsoft Corp., weary of being cast as a stodgy oldster by Apple Inc.'s advertising, is turning for help to Jerry Seinfeld.

The software giant's new $300 million advertising campaign, devised by a newly hired ad agency, has been closely guarded. But Mr. Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen, say people close to the situation. He will appear with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in ads and receive about $10 million for the work, they say.

The new ad effort is expected to use some variation of the slogan "Windows, Not Walls," according to several people familiar with the matter. Those people say the point is to stress breaking down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting. The campaign, said to debut Sept. 4, is one of the largest in the company's history.

The attempted image overhaul comes as Microsoft executives privately acknowledge that Windows -- the company's most important brand -- has grown stale and has been battered by Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads. Those ads, created by Omnicom Group Inc.'s TBWA/Chiat/Day, feature a nerdy PC guy getting upstaged by a hip Mac counterpart.

Microsoft's immediate goal is to reverse the negative public perception of Windows Vista, the latest version of the company's personal-computer operating system. Windows is Microsoft's largest generator of profit and revenue, accounting for 28% of the company's revenue of $60.4 billion in the year ended June 30.

The software has sold well, and Microsoft retains an overwhelming share of the market for operating system software over Apple. But Apple's computer sales have been rising, and Vista is dogged by the notion that it has technical shortcomings and is hard to use. Apple's latest Mac vs. PC ads take swipes at Vista. Microsoft says early problems with Vista have been largely alleviated.

While Apple's digs at Microsoft through its advertising campaign have been vexing, Apple is on a hot streak with its products that Microsoft hasn't been able to match. Apple's Macintosh computer business is dwarfed by Microsoft's share of the PC software market, but it has been gaining on its larger rival, accounting for 7.8% of new PC shipments in the U.S. in the second quarter, compared with 6.2% during the same period the prior year, according to research firm IDC. The vast majority of the rest of the market is made up of Windows PCs.

During the second quarter, Apple said it sold 41% more Macs than it did during the same period the prior year; that compares with growth of 15.3% in total PC shipments world-wide, according to IDC. Apple's desktop and notebook computers have won converts among onetime Windows loyalists.

Crucial Role

Microsoft's campaign highlights the crucial role of Windows in the company's broader efforts to expand into new areas. Money from that division is invested into other areas, such as online services that are crucial to Microsoft's long-term growth. Windows is also a bedrock product for sales of other Microsoft software, such as the Office group of programs.

"They are not seen as cool," says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York branding firm. "Apple is cool. Can anyone even recall a Microsoft ad? No." Apple and its brand-obsessed CEO, Steve Jobs, have been producing distinctive advertising since its famous "1984" campaign, which debuted that year in the Super Bowl.

The planned appearance of Mr. Gates in the ads is one sign that Microsoft will continue to use its co-founder's own celebrity status, even now that Mr. Gates has stepped away from full-time work in software to focus on philanthropy. Over the past decade, Microsoft has paired Mr. Gates with a range of celebrities in lighthearted videos. A recent video, shown at computer-industry events, portrayed a comical depiction of Mr. Gates's last day at Microsoft, showing him with rapper Jay-Z, rocker Bono, and actor Matthew McConaughey, among others.

For its new campaign, Microsoft also considered a range of other famous personalities, including comedians Will Ferrell and Chris Rock, according to people familiar with the matter.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Seinfeld declined to comment. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on details of the campaign.

In an email to Microsoft employees in July, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer wrote, "Now it's time to tell our story."

He added: "In the weeks ahead, we'll launch a campaign to address any lingering doubts our customers may have about Windows Vista." He said that later in the year the company will roll out "a more comprehensive effort to redefine the meaning and value of Windows for our customers."

Microsoft's large business-to-business presence has always made for a difficult marketing mix with consumer branding. Windows is used by both constituencies.

Mr. Seinfeld is just one piece of the makeover. The campaign will likely include videos of recent consumer focus groups that Microsoft held. In the studies, participants -- who said they had negative impressions of Vista -- were shown a version of Windows called "Mojave." After trying Mojave and liking it, the participants were told that the software was actually Windows Vista.

The campaign is the brainchild of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a Miami-based ad shop that has helped revitalize brands such as Burger King. Microsoft hired the firm earlier this year after considering several ad agencies including WPP Group PLC's JWT, Publicis Groupe's Fallon and its longtime agency Interpublic Group's McCann Erickson.

Big Test

The campaign is a big test for Crispin Porter + Bogusky. In choosing the firm, a unit of MDC Partners, Microsoft broke from McCann Erickson, which has managed the software maker's previous efforts including the 2002 "Realizing Potential" Microsoft corporate ad campaign and the "Start Something" campaign for Windows XP in 2005. McCann remains on Microsoft's agency roster working on other Microsoft ad duties such as Xbox.

While Crispin Porter + Bogusky has won awards for its Burger King ads, which highlighted the company's king pitchman, not all its pitches have hit the mark. The agency had come up short on its work for Miller Lite with its "Man Laws" ad campaign that featured boxer Oscar De La Hoya and actor Burt Reynolds. The work failed to increase sales. The two companies eventually parted ways.

Even though Mr. Seinfeld's popular sitcom stopped production in 1998, the 54-year-old comic still has major appeal with consumers, according to Davie-Brown Entertainment, a marketing company owned by Omnicom Group. The comedian ranks 41st out of more than 1,900 celebrities in terms of broad appeal, the firm's data show.

Still, after 10 years of reruns and only occasional appearances by Mr. Seinfeld in the media, keeping the franchise fresh with younger adults is a concern. Last week, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Television, which distributes "Seinfeld" in U.S. syndication, announced the "Seinfeld Campus Tour," in which it's sending a 60-foot "Seinfeld"-themed bus to U.S. colleges to drum up interest in "a new generation of viewers," a spokeswoman said.

Mr. Seinfeld had been a spokesman for American Express, and his "Superman" commercials and Web videos in 2004 won raves. People familiar with the Microsoft campaign say that the company was aware of trying too hard to pander to youth, so didn't want a celebrity that was too hip, or a possible flash-in-the-pan.

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