Fired part 3...

http://valleywag.com/5051860/microsoft-ad-agency-confirms-new-seinfeld-ad-produced-yet-not-running

Ok, so apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that someone otta be fired. Despite the spin from Microsoft's PR machine, the ad company themselves are admitting that MS has put an indefinite hold on ads-about-nothing. Sounds like someone at Crispin Porter & Bogusky might be a little ticked at the idea; why else would you leak the fact that your multi-million dollar client has pulled the plug on a campaign, when they themselves claim it is all part of the advertising strategy??

While I admit and acknowledge the inherent pro-Apple bias of the following article, some of the points made still hold true: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/09/18/microsofts_300_million_ad_campaign_tumbles_with_new_pc_ads.html

Points such as:

• Crispin Porter & Bogusky are featured on Apple's website for their use of Mac Minis because of the need for a reliable platform. Interestingly, since that article was written, YESTERDAY, the profile has been pulled from the Apple website! I wonder who squawked? Apple, MS or CP&B - my money is on MS as they have the most to lose...
• "The problem of course is that Apple presents the Mac in contrast to PC because it wants to avoid any unnecessary mention of Windows. By copying Apple's line, Microsoft will be spending millions to advertise the PC rather than the Windows brand."
  Though "PC" is used interchangeably with "Windows Machine" in the vernacular, PC is a generic term for pretty much any Personal Computer that doesn't run Apple OS (and, arguably, even for those that do - the personal computer I'm writing this on happens to be an iMac...). While it's one thing for Apple to take shots at the ubiquitous "PC" running Vista and compare it to a Mac, thus highlighting the uniqueness of the Apple experience -- which I think is more the line of reasoning in the ads than an avoidance of mentioning Windows -- it is quite another for Microsoft to assume that "I'm a PC" means "MS Windows." It is akin to Kleenex running an ad that refers only to "facial tissues" and NEVER refers to their own brand. Hubris or folly? Only time will tell.
• "It's somewhat ironic that Microsoft's upper management, after hiring Crispin Porter + Bogusky to inject some new life in the the (sic) company's brand, hastily decided to yank the ads before they had a chance to go anywhere."
  Not only do I completely agree with the above statement, the fact that the next 5 or 6 sentences in the article state pretty much exactly what I said on September 12 only goes to prove the brilliance of Prince McLean. :)

"I've been saying it for years!"