, but a couple of you didn't think it was all bad. Readers share their
mixed reactions:
You are absolutely right. It is a total bomb. When I saw it, my reaction
was, "And?" I think it is about as big a non-ad as has ever wasted
money and time. I've been a Windows user almost since Day One. That would
be when I stopped using CP/M. I look for much more in my operating system
and I want to see good ads, too. I am totally disappointed.
-John
I enjoyed the TV ad and thought that Gates was as good a comic straight-man
as some well-established comics. IMO, Gates trumped Seinfeld, indeed.
-Ron
It made me want to go out and buy a pair of Conquistador shoes with Windows
in the toes!
-Charles
That commercial makes as much sense as the first release of Vista. Of
course it's Microsoft's money, so if you don't like it, don't buy the stock.
-Geo
I've heard and read a lot about the commercial being a flop, but I'm not
so sure. I agree that the jokes were a bit flat. However, I think the ad brought
a bit more human-ness to Gates and, with Seinfeld in the mix, makes Microsoft
appear a lot more accessible/friendly to the general populace. To the audience
it was geared (average Windows consumer), I believe it can probably be considered
a success.
The simple image of Gates wiggling his rear end is something I could
have gone without. The "good" of the commercial is that it is memorable;
I won't forget Gates trying on shoes in a discount shoe store.
-Kevin
The moist cake is a reference to the Drake's Coffee Cake from the "Seinfeld"
show. Same with the showering with clothes on; Kramer made his meals in the
shower in one episode. For those that watched "Seinfeld," it was
a great commercial. Bill Gates was funny, too.
-Anonymous
I normally do not comment about anything that I see on the Web, even
when asked. But I actually viewed that ad and have never seen anything more
stupid in my life in regard to an advertisement for anything relating to a
computer -- whether hardware or software. It was a better ad for shoes than
anything else.
-Anonymous
The commercial was horrible and was painful to watch, and I really did
not get the point. I never thought Seinfeld was funny in the first place.
That being said, I don't find the Mac commercials funny either (only dorky
Mac users find them funny), but I must admit that they are very clever and
are effective in giving PCs (and of course Windows) a perception that they
are inferior to the Mac. Microsoft should probably hire the same people who
market for Apple, whom I must admit have been very good at selling a "perception."
-Asif
As for the ad, it's definite NYC humor, and since I'm from the other side
of the Hudson, I get it. Friends in England and Ireland don't have a clue,
but to them I just say, "NO SOUP FOR YOU."
-Anonymous
A complete, total, stunning waste of money, time and talent. Pointless.
-Lin
I would just like to say, "Where is the message?" What a waste
of talent and money!
-Harry
I thought it was really bad. I saw it twice before I even figured out
what it was for. I thought maybe after Bill stepped down he needed a little
extra cash so he moved to doing commercials.
-Anonymous
I thought the ad was amateurish at 1:30 minutes. But I'll bet it will
rock at 30 seconds once the lame parts are removed.
-Dan
Since I'm not a fan of Seinfeld, my approach to the campaign is a great,
big yawn. I am neither excited nor disappointed. To put it another way, I
couldn't care less.
-Charlie
Clinical psychologists learn a lot about their patients by discerning
what the patient finds funny or sad. I cannot understand what the fuss is
all about.
-Roger
The jury's still out on Chrome. Here are a few more of your thoughts on Google's
browser:
I'm not sure if you are just getting desperate to defend Microsoft, or
are just plain out of touch. Stop looking just in your Mailbag. Everyone I
have talked to loves chrome (including myself) for just one reason: It's fast,
darn fast. It totally changes how you browse. For one thing, instead of keeping
tabs open, you can just move on because you know that it will open again really
fast. Its few minor problems are nothing compared to IE.
-Jim
I was stunned to find no Google Toolbar functionality built into Chrome.
Really! Don't Chrome developers know that there is such a thing? If they do,
why did they ignore a massively downloaded add-on in the beta? If I go to
download the Toolbar, the page thinks I'm a Firefox browser. Is this a case
of 'IF NOT "IE" THEN "FIREFOX"' logic?
I liked the drag-tab-to-new-browser and drag-across-browsers features
-- very nice for organizing. But hitting any MSN page invites slow-as molasses
response times. Does MS look at the browser originating the request and "take
its time"? I liked the download monitor tucked away on the page rather
than a separate dialog box, and it was a faultless install after the download
completed. The only page that broke was expected: internal system using ASP
session state croaked with a Yellow Screen of Death. If they'd fix that, I'd
be off IE in a hurry. Chrome really needs to pad its resume with gobs of add-ons
like Firefox or it will likely remain a niche browser -- nice, clean, but
undistinguished and uncompelling.
-Stephen
Has anyone read the EULA? Every bit of information produced by the Chrome
browser is property of Google to use how it sees fit! Google has way to much
information on us already. If you don't care about privacy, use Chrome.
-Howard
Check in next week for more letters! In the meantime, tell us what you think
by leaving a comment belor or send an e-mail to [email protected].