Explaining Microsoft Shoe Circus Ad
Microsoft’s new ad called Shoe Circus featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates is making lot of buzz on the internet and one thing you commonly hear from everyone is “That ad does not make sense”. It is a pity though that such a smart ad is not understood by people or they are just too narrow minded with their hatred for Microsoft to understand it. I personally find the ad funny and does well what it was meant to do.
Let me explain the ad better here.
Scene 1: It starts off with a scene where Jerry Seinfeld is shocked to see Bill Gates (one of the World’s richest man) buying shoes at a discount store and realizes Bill Gates is having problems with buying shoes which does not fit well and shopkeeper is convincing him that it would stretch and get better.
Bill Gates is shown as just a normal guy who buys shoes at a discount store just like other normal people would. It shows one of the World’s richest man buying shoes which other normal people can afford. This is telling Apple in the face that their prices are high and only privileged few can afford to buy Mac and PC is affordable to almost everyone.
Also it clearly shows since Bill Gates is having problems with shoes which means “One size does not fit all” just like everyone’s computing needs are different and different people need different computers. Another jab at Mac for not giving users enough choice on what they need in terms of hardware.
Scene 2: This scene starts off with Jerry Seinfeld helping Bill Gates choose the right shoes and trying to warm up the shoes so that it would fit him well. Finally after trying many, they choose a shoes which fits perfectly well and also Spanish people outside the shop know what shoes it is and have the same view of the shoes as Jerry Seinfeld has (they run very tight).
This is how we have always bought PC’s, we just don’t go to a shop and say ‘Give me that’.
We check out many manufacturers selling PC’s like DELL, HP, Sony, Toshiba etc and then choose the hardware which best suits our needs. We do research, ask our friends and family and choose the ones that really suits us and our computing needs. Like those Spanish people outside the shop, everyone knows what PC is because they have all used it irrespective of which country they are from or the language they speak.
Scene 3: Checkout, Bill Gates has chosen the right shoes and is about to pay for the shoes. It is funny, there is a mugshot of Young Bill Gates on the Shoe Circus Card. Seinfeld and Gates walk out of the store talking about Microsoft’s future and how delicious their future products will be. Watch out for Bill Gates signal to Seinfeld’s question.
This scene is just fun with both Seinfeld and Gates talking about the future of Microsoft and where it is heading. We clearly know, they are onto something delicious.
I am clearly happy with this ad mainly because Microsoft did not stoop down to Apple’s level by making it personal instead they gave it back in metaphors. I am sure the follow-up of this ad will be even better than this ad. In simple terms, the ad says “One size does not fit all”, so try many before you find the best fit. It is very true with respect to buying computers. This is what i have understood from the ad. If you have understood the ad better, I would like to know your view too.
