In the first ad released by Crispin Porter+Bogusky for Microsoft, Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld meet serendipitously at Shoe Circus, a Payless ShoeSource-type store. Seinfeld helps him pick out shoes. Made of pleather. Significant glances are exchanged, immigrants gawk, and churros are shared.
Thus ingratiated with one of the world’s richest (and thriftiest?) men, Seinfeld poses the question we’d all ask, given the chance (and a serious case of munchies): “Are they ever gonna come up with something that’ll make our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can eat ’em while we’re working?”
Gates gives Seinfeld a subtle but sassy little ass-shake to denote “yes.”
Weirded out? That’s CP+B for ya. The spot’s left of center and sort of juvenile, even derivative of YouTube culture. But it’s also appealing to see Bill Gates depicted as Ordinary Dude, platinum member of a cheap shoe retailer. Will it turn him into a quirky — but beloved! — brand ambassador a la BK’s King? It could. We’ll see.
The ad is part of a series featuring Seinfeld, who reportedly made $10 million for his appearances. Yep. Seinfeld = three percent of the ad budget. That’s almost cocky.
