News

WSJ: Microsoft hires Seinfeld to bite Apple

Software maker to spend $300M on ad campaign

By Steven Schwankert

August 21, 2008 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - Apple Inc. keeps pummeling Microsoft Corp. in its ads, and yadda yadda yadda, the world's largest software maker plans to hire comedian Jerry Seinfeld for its new marketing campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

Continually painted by Apple and other rivals as uncool and unsafe, Microsoft plans to spend $300 million on a new series of advertisements, designed around its "Windows Not Walls" slogan, that will feature Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

Seinfeld will take home $10 million for his role in the spots, the report said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Microsoft is not only trying to turn around a stodgy corporate image, but also wants to reverse recent product misfires, including the Windows Vista operating system and the Zune digital music player.

Apple has rubbed in Microsoft's lack of success and highlighted its own winning streak in a series of "Mac vs. PC" ads.

The campaign is due to debut Sept. 4, and is being produced by advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Microsoft ads

In news

In blogs

Comments ()

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World

Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

WHITE PAPER

Enter the Security KnowledgeVault

Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

WHITE PAPER

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All

New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Top Stories

Free Insider Guide

Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet: Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.

Applications White Papers

Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) Case Study - Oracle: In this paper, Forrester Consulting examines the total economic impact and potential return on investment (ROI) realized by three Enterprise organizations as they...
The Hidden Truth About Virtualizing Business-Critical Applications: This IDG whitepaper highlights key findings based on the Quickpoll Survey conducted with more than 300 Enterprise and Commercial IT decision makers worldwide...
Top 10 Myths About Virtualizing Business-Critical Applications: Even though virtualization has brought positive change to enterprise IT over the last decade, some skepticism remains about how valuable virtualization can be...
Enterprise Java Applications on VMware: Unix to Linux Migration Guide: This guide focuses on key considerations for IT Architects who are in the process of migrating Java applications from UNIX to Linux as...
Virtualizing Tier 1 Applications: A Critical Step on the Journey Toward the Private Cloud: This IDC white paper explains how much of the Enterprise IT community is at a crossroads in extending their journey to the private...

Applications Webcasts

Live Webcast Banish Poor Application Performance: Eliminate Business Disruptions, Increase End User Productivity: End User Experience, 30-Min Webinar
Wed. Feb. 22nd ~ 11 AM ET

Are you ready to gain the proactive ability to rapidly respond...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere: Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere: Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence: Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
Discover the Benefits of Virtualization for Federal Applications: Want to say goodbye to missed SLAs? VMware can help you virtualize mission-critical applications such as Oracle, MS Exchange and SharePoint to achieve...
Reduce Application Lifecycle Management Costs with VMware ThinApp: Traditional desktop application deployment and management is a time-consuming and costly endeavor for IT. From development to deployment, including help desk support, the...