Microsoft has kicked off its new ad campaign for Windows featuring comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, and Microsoft’s Chairman, Bill Gates. Bill is at a Shoe Circus Discount Store trying on shoes where Jerry sees him from outside the store and proceeds in to chat with him. Bill is trying on a pleather shoe and Jerry convinces him to get a Conquistador. Bill is a size 10 no less. He asks Bill if he has ever tried showering with his clothes on, to which Bill responds in the negative. Jerry goes on to recommend it saying “you’re dressed and you’re clean”. Bill pays for his shoes and, as it turns out, is a platinum Shoe Circus Clown Club Member. Jerry then asks Bill to give him a signal - like adjusting his shorts - if they will ever make computers so they are moist and chewy like cakes so we can eat them as we work. Bill adjusts his shorts answering in the affirmative.

The hype and curiosity about this campaign garnered a lot of interest in the ad, however, not everyone seems to be thrilled with it. The ad, which is part of a $300 million ad campaign, debuted to mixed reviews during the NFL kickoff game on NBC. It is now on the Microsoft Windows homepage and on YouTube where it received about 600K views, got a rating of 2.5 out of 5, and some disappointed comments. According to Microsoft’s Senior VP of Windows, Bill Veghte, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:

The ad campaign is part of a much broader push to boost Windows, including more extensive testing of Windows Vista PCs aimed at speeding up the time it takes to start up and shut down the machines. Microsoft is also cooperating with major retailers, including Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc., to create stores-within-a-store that will showcase Windows-powered PCs, Internet services and mobile devices. Mr. Veghte said the company is also evaluating whether to do its own stores in addition to partnerships with other retailers.