Can Jerry Seinfeld Renew the 'Wow' for Microsoft?

IT Jungle - New York,NY,USA - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will reportedly accept $10 million in exchange for being Microsoft's next celebrity spokesman. The TV funnyman is expected to appear in ads with chairman Bill Gates pushing Windows Vista, and will be part of a larger $300 million campaign to combat Apple and its aggressive anti-Windows marketing. The question for Microsoft is: Can Seinfeld bring the 'Wow' back to Vista marketing?

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Seinfeld will play a role in Microsoft's new "Windows, Not Walls" advertising campaign, which is slated to start next week. The campaign was put together by Crispin Porter + Bogusk, the posh New York ad agency behind the creepy (but successful) Burger King ads and Miller Lite's "Man Laws" campaign, which were clever but didn't boost sales.

Exactly how the campaign expects to utilize Seinfeld remains a mystery, except for the obvious: He will be expected to make people laugh. But times have changed. Seinfeld hasn't produced a new TV show in nearly a decade, and although his show remains popular with reruns, it's competing for eyes and ears in a very different market than the one Seinfeld left back in 1998.