Those ads make me feel disoriented and confused, like a BZ gas victim.
Oh! Now I get it.
I thought they were quite amusing…I especially liked the mustard jar scenes. Not sure how good they are for selling anything, but I laughed all the way through the second one.
If you’ll note, my point has basically been that this thread is about the commercials, while others have tried to expand it. However, I’m more than willing to let the matter drop.
…by getting in the last word.
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Thank you, Liberal. That was a very appropriate response to that comment.
Tuckerfan, this might be of some use: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Admittedly, the Foundation has invested in some companies that might not be angelic in order to ensure a good ROI. However, the overall impact of what they have already accomplished and what they will accomplish over the next few years/decades, well, I don’t know that anyone would call it not “all that”.
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On topic, my husband showed me the ads yesterday. They leave me bemused. They’re odd, but I don’t like or dislike them. They just are, kind of like a potato is. Also, they have gotten tons of people talking about them, so I suppose they were effective attention-grabbers for Microsoft.
-aankh, posting from her Vista PC
Well, since no one else is going to bring it up, allow me to point out the racist, homo-erotic, and misogynistic elements in the Gates/Seinfeld ads. Not that I believe Microsoft in any way intended these messages to be sent by the ads, but when you’ve sat through enough English Lit. classes where the professor admits that he doesn’t have a clue what “allegory” and “subtext” (amongst others) means, you tend to come up with the squirrelly ideas fairly easily.
In the first ad, we have Jerry wandering around a mall eating a churro. Given its long, white, floppy shape, I’m sure I don’t need to point out the phallic imagery involved here. But let’s not forget that Jerry’s a celebrity who’s a bit past his peak in terms of popularity, as well as being Jewish. Taken together, the implications can be interpreted in a couple of ways. The first is that Jerry’s symbolic of Post-Sharon Israel, significant, but fading (though with the possibility of coming back with the right help). The second is that he’s symbolic of the “Jewish overlords” the racists are always claiming “really” run things.
He spots Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest men in the world, in a discount shoe place with “Carnival” in the name. (I’m afraid that I can’t review the ad at the moment as my internet connection is spotty, thus forcing me to write this off-line and then doing a C&P of this, when my connection comes back.) What things do people most associate with carnivals? Rigged games on the midway and (generally lame) sideshows. This lets us know that we’re either going to be watching a couple of freaks, or participating in a rigged game. Given that MS’ has been on the losing side of a number of anti-trust lawsuits, I think its obvious we’re supposed to go with the “rigged game” interpretation.
Seinfeld goes in, and rather than introducing himself to Gates, simply identifies who Gates is, before offering Gates a bite of his churro (AKA penis). Gates turns down the churro, meaning he won’t suck Jewish cock. Instead of discussing “rich guy” stuff (you know, the drop in property values in the Hamptons, etc.), Jerry immediately turns subservient, taking over from the shoe salesman in fitting Bill for a pair of “Conquestador” shoes.
The symbology is rich at this point. First of all, we’ve got a representative of a group often stereotyped as being the secret masters of the world, quite literally kneeling (with all the implications that entails, both sexual and subservient) before one of the wealthiest people to properly fit him with shoes that we’re told “run tight.” There’s the obvious connotations of dominance, not only with the name of the shoe, but with the fact that it is a shoe (symbol of trodding over others, as well as something that people are made to kiss as a sign of fealty). The “run tight” phrase brings to mind a highly efficient organization (which gives us the logical conclusion that Microsoft is going to do a “bang up job” crushing their opposition).
Then we have the immigrant family looking in from the outside. Given their obvious Latino heritage (and that they’re speaking Spanish), we can safely assume that they came to this country seeking greater opportunity, but also appreciate that a “firm hand” is some times needed at the tiller. Gates, of course, will be providing that “firm hand.”
During the final fitting, Jerry presses on the shoe and asks Bill if that’s his toe. Bill’s response? A snarky “Leather.” Not only do we get BDSM connotations from this, but there’s the implication that Gates is not made of flesh and blood like ordinary mortal men, but something much tougher. This also insinuates that Gates is willing to use the lash in his plans for global domination.
Once Jerry’s certain that Bill’s got the right shoes, he proudly declares Bill to be a “ten.” There’s at least three layers to this. The first is that with Jerry’s help, Bill is now bigger than he once was. Second, we have the reference to the Bo Derek/Dudley Moore movie by the same name. Finally, there’s the whole meme about big feet meaning you have a big penis. Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve just learned that Bill Gates has a ten inch cock. How’s that make you feel?
Bill’s flashing of his club card with his mugshot photo on it, is symbolic of his “checkered past” and that he’s “done time.” The bit later on about it giving him “Big Top points” indicates that he’s gaining power by trodding upon others. (Sure, some carnivals have big tops, but is that what really springs first to your mind when you think of one?)
We next see Bill and Jerry leaving the mall. Bill has suddenly acquired his own churro, meaning that he’s now, not only willing to show his dick, but like Jesus, can cause bread to multiply. I don’t recall if Bill takes a bite of it or not, but if he does, that means Bill’s willing to suck cock when it suits him, provided its his own cock, and not someone else’s.
Jerry then asks if Microsoft is secretly working on edible computers. This is a call back to the old Zager and Evans song “2525,” and the line, “everything you think, do, and say, is in that little pill you took today.” Jerry doesn’t want Bill to come right out and tell him, since that would reveal the secret, and asks Bill to give him “some kind of sign.” Meaning, of course, we should read deeper into the message of this commercial, than just staring at the surface. Also, the “adjust your shorts” instruction hearkens back to Bart Simpson’s frequent cry of, “Eat my shorts!” Bill’s ass wiggle in response, is identical to those given by people in a long running series (and let’s not forget that this is supposed to be a long running series of commercials for Microsoft) of commercials for toilet paper. So there’s the sexual nature of Bill wiggling his ass, along with implication that he intends to wipe his ass with America.
In the second spot, Bill and Jerry are inexplicably living with an “ordinary” family. What’s the first thing we discover about this family? They’re a bunch of ignorant putzes, and the grandmother, besides speaking darkly about Bill and Jerry is always mysteriously in the background, doing things. The clear level of superiority of Bill and Jerry is shown by the fact that they “get” the schlubs better than the schlubs “get” them. Jerry spots the gum in his roll, and Bill notices that they’re eating basically the same thing they had the night before (with Jerry, ever the subservient, pointing out that now it has added “cheese” [like the commercial, perhaps]), while the “ordinary” folks seem to think that “mustard with wine in it” is somehow fancy.
Both the husband and wife secretly accost Jerry for advice about money. Now, let’s think about this for a moment. You have two guests in your house. One of whom flips from being the wealthiest man on the planet, to the second, and back again, with some regularity. The other, is a highly successful comic, but seems to be a bit past his prime in drawing power (come to think of it, with Bill down to second place in the moneybags department at the moment, they’re a fitting pair). Which one would you ask for financial advice? Logically, it should be the guy with the most money, but its not, its Jerry. What would make Jerry so special? Well, if you buy into the old saw about nobody knowing how to handle their money better than a Jew, you’d ask Jerry.
At one point, the daughter walks in on Jerry (who we see brushing his teeth at a couple of points, but never Bill) cutting his toenails. This shows us that Jerry, unlike Bill, is a mere mortal. It also is something that everyone does, so it shouldn’t be considered all that icky, but the daughter finds this to be so. Now, if you’ll remember back about a decade or so ago, there was a minor flap in all the tabloids about Jerry dating a much younger woman. Clearly, this is to tell us that Jerry icks young women out, and that the whole business of him dating that woman (as well as his current marriage) was merely a cover. It also shows us that women are not to be trusted. (One wonders if the commercial was made before or after McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate.)
Note that the delivery boy who shows up with the Chinese food (symbolic of Bill’s intention to devour the Chinese market) knows exactly who Bill and Jerry are, and comments about their respective achievements. Bill’s are certainly stated accurately, but Jerry’s are a bit exaggerated. This is to remind us that Bill’s “the man” while Jerry’s his “bitch.”
When the daughter decides to frame Bill and Jerry, she does so by planting a “leather” giraffe from Latin-America in their room. This, of course, is a call back to Bill’s statement that Jerry’s touching leather and not Bill’s toe in the previous ad (re-enforcing that you do not touch Bill), as well as the Latino family.
The “punishment” doled out to our “heroes” is for them to sand a door. Why a door and not a window? Well, because they want to show that Bill will wear away a door. If they had the two of them sanding a window, it would indicate that Bill was merely refinishing the old version of the OS that he’s famous for, every time Microsoft is releasing a new version of Windows, not what the company wants you to think at all.
As Bill and Jerry leave the family (walking and not riding in a limo, symbolizing that they’re going on a spiritual quest, rather than an economic one) they talk about “connecting” with the family. Clearly, we’ve seen that Bill and Jerry are trying to connect with people, but they’re just too damn stupid to get them. Jerry then asks Bill another question about the kinds of things that Microsoft is working on its secret laboratories. This time, however, instead of asking Bill to adjust his shorts as a sign, he tells Bill to “do the robot.” One can only draw the conclusion from this that if Jews are allowed to rule the world, we’ll all be turned into mindless robots.
Wow, Tuckerfan what the hell was that?
A very paranoid interpretation of the new MS commercials. 
Well, good luck with all that…
People say they are advertising Vista but I believe it is the fabled Windows 7
The interpretation of the first one was cool
7’s not due out until late next year at the earliest from everything I’ve heard, so unless these ads are going to be running a lot longer than we’ve been told (which would fit in with the global domination theme, I must admit) or MS has decided they’re going to bust ass and push out 7 early, I can’t see it.
That was funny, Tuckerfan!
Appears Microsoft is stopping the Seinfeld ads. It seems up in the air at this point as to whether or not this was part of the plan all along, but it seems rather abrupt to me.
http://valleywag.com/5051455/microsoft-to-announce-jerry-seinfeld-ads-cancelled-tomorrow
“Not unexpected”??? Well, why the fuck did you do it, then? I certainly couldn’t pull shit like that at my job and get away with it.
New Microsoft “I’m a PC” ad. Not that bad, addresses the fact that the Mac ads distill everyone down to a chunky guy in a suit or a smug grungy dude.
According to NPR, they spent $300,000,000 on the campaign. That’s three hundred MILLION dollars, not the three HUNDRED dollars they appeared to spend.
Some people have too much money. Simple as that.
Has anyone seen the third (and, apparently, final) Seinfeld/Gates ad? I’ve only seen the two linked in this thread.
I just assumed the third would be on Sunday during football.
There’s more to the ad campaign than just these ads. They’re doing “Project Mojave” (i.e. We’ve secretly replaced the operating system on their computers with Vista, let’s see if they notice.) and more unspecified things are coming, apparently. Still, I’m not exactly impressed with how they’ve spent their money so far.