Apparently, there was something wrong with that.
Microsoft confirmed today that its Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates soft-sell ads—which never quite sold the TV audience—will be pulled from the airwaves and replaced with "phase two" of the computer giant's Operation: Resuscitate Image, namely a much more aggressive commercial spot featuring Gates, Eva Longoria, Pharrell Williams, Deepak Chopra, and, much more to the point, a guy who bears a not-too-coincidental resemblance to Apple's "I'm a PC" player, John Hodgman.
Blogosphere haters have already jumped to the conclusion that the two Seinfeld ads, which have only been in rotation for two weeks, were prematurely pulled after intense criticism. Indeed, Microsoft drew fire for the seemingly antiquated choice of Seinfeld (a former Mac user) to hip up Microsoft's stodgy image and the ads' general failure to tickle funnybones, for a price tag of $10 million.
But Microsoft mouthpiece Frank Shaw said that the ads were always meant to have a short shelf life.
"All along we said we were having a teaser campaign," Shaw said. "We're getting ready to start the second phase. This was the plan all along."
"The ads that feature Bill and Jerry have done exactly what they were designed to do," added another company spokesman, Tom Pilla. "Any suggestion otherwise is untrue."
As for the second phase of Microsoft's $300 million image makeover campaign, which launches today, the company is going to do its best to bite the hand that feeds its stereotypes, enlisting testimonials from the seemingly few and proud cool people who don't prefer Mac.
According to the New York Times, Microsoft's first commercial features a company engineer who is a Hodgman nerd-alike.
"Hello, I'm a PC," the Microsoft employee says in the new spot, "and I've been made into a stereotype."
Sixty more Microsoft employees echo the proclamation, including Gates. Other commercials feature Longoria, Chopra and Williams.
Seinfeld, however, is not among the unabashed PC users, and Microsoft has kept mum on whether his services will be required in a future phase of its campaign.
Sounds like someone just yada-yada-yada'd their way out of a gig.