The (Shoe) Circus Comes to Town

I just watched the first entry in Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign designed to counteract Apple's "Get a Mac" ads. It appears to be one of a series of ads that will tell a story, if you can manage to watch all of them. This type of ad campaign has been successful for other products. The most memorable example may be Taster's Choice, which used a soap opera-style series of ads about a couple meeting cute over a cup of coffee. Each ad was designed to leave you wondering whether a chance meeting would progress into a relationship, or whether they would go their separate ways.

Courtesy of Microsoft

The Microsoft ad features Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld running into each other at Shoe Circus, a discount shoe store. There's lots of talk about shoes, but the only reference to computers is Jerry's wistful wish that computers could be tasty and edible, like cake. I was amused that Bill is a "Shoe Circus Club Town" member who gets big top points for every purchase, but the ad otherwise fell short for me. I expected something that would be fun and hold my interest, but it failed on both counts.

Microsoft says "the new campaign will highlight how Windows has become an indispensible part of the lives of a billion people around the world." The ad agency, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, says the ads are designed to spark a conversation about Windows.

The ad just left me thinking about shoes.

The Taster's Choice commercials worked because they were engaging, and left us wondering what would happen with the couple. The Microsoft ad just left me wondering who thought the sight of Bill Gates wiggling his caboose would be appealing or funny or an enticement to watch the rest of the ad series.

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the ad.

What do you think about Microsoft's ad campaign? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.