Actually, the entire series of ads might make you want to lose your lunch. Sure, watching '90s Superman Dean Cain randomly pop up in people's homes dressed like Bentley from The Jeffersons is a little funny. But it's all over once the "jokes" and the puke start to fly. I'm not sure why Microsoft thought the image of a woman violently vomiting after stumbling upon her man friend's favorite porn site would sell more copies of Explorer 8. View the ad after the jump
Does this ad show us all the cool Web surfing features Explorer 8 has to offer? Does it tell us whether or not it comes pre-installed on new computers? Nope. It shows us a dude slipping and falling on vomit. Because that what we, "the Twitter generation" want to see.
Microsoft, you're shocking no one by continuing to green light these terrible, terrible ads that tell us nothing about your product. And we know you want to distract us with vomit and "Internet humor" because your products suck.
Dean Cain, we're cool. You cash your checks and do your thing. By the way, I like those pants.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-01-2009 @ 2:13PM
Jimmy said...
This is a hoax, right?
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 3:45PM
Jimmy said...
First, the Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld campaign bombed. Now this. This has to be a low point for Microsoft.
Thankfully, I can say "I'm a Mac."
7-01-2009 @ 2:37PM
Michael said...
What Microsoft wants is for people to talk about the ads and since you have made an entire blog entry about it then I would say that the ad is effective.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 3:23PM
Natrino said...
They want people to talk about it, just not actually use it.
7-01-2009 @ 3:52PM
Chip Douglas said...
I think it's funny. It is certainly memorable. That's what counts now a days. Especially on the web. Too many things blend in to eachother. I know I will be talking about it later. And that is the point.
7-01-2009 @ 3:57PM
am_hollitz said...
Use is automatic. Internet Explorer 8 now comes installed on all new machines. And most PC users, when given other options, use Internet Explorer anyway because they've always used it.
7-01-2009 @ 2:57PM
Andrew said...
Ad = FAIL
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 3:36PM
backbackheyhey said...
How's that career workin' out for you Dean?
Oh, and BTW, Google Chrome has had private browsing for quite a while now.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 4:19PM
Derek said...
And Safari. And Firefox 3.5. And all 3 have less vomit than IE.
Epic fail, Microsoft.
7-01-2009 @ 4:28PM
dt3 said...
well where is there mildly offensive viral ad?? Whats that?? They don't have one?!? and no one knows they have this function?!? Who's the dumbass now??
7-01-2009 @ 4:17PM
dt3 said...
this might not have occurred to you but being able to surf the interpornweb without having to jump through hoops of fire to make sure you arent caught is the holy grail of internet browsing features.
They might have chosen a poor way to show the customers this feature but they definetely got their point across. Poor shtick or not this will lead to (literally) millions more downloads of the program than the rest of the "cool Web surfing features" combined.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 4:50PM
Michael said...
At least Microsoft doesn't beat around bush with this feature, all the other browsers all say that "Private Browsing" is a secure way to do online banking or secret Holiday shopping.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 5:54PM
Jimmy said...
Maybe the ad would be better if the music from "2 Girls 1 Cup" was playing in the background?
7-01-2009 @ 7:47PM
Mynsc said...
Oh sheesh, grow a sense of humor please. You really want to go back to the age of infomercials ? Or boring old ads built on the same 10 year old ideea that just gets recycled over and over again, with just some minor changes ?
Thing is people are talking about them, they stand-out and are easy to remember and also they touch on ie8's most important features without getting into tech terms or anything like that. Complete succes in my opinion.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 6:41PM
Bubba said...
Ok:
A: Vomit jokes are funnier if you are forced to *imagine* what the vomit looks like, rather than see it, so ThisCommercialShockValue = FAIL, unless you go for the over-the-top vomit fountain effect... or she could have at least vomited on the computer itself... after all, it probably is running Windows
B: @Scott:
2g1c HAD music? Really? I don't remember that... for that matter, I've blocked the entire thing out of my mind, so I'll have to take your word for it...
C: @Michael:
Yes, let's face it, that is EXACTLY what this function is for, although a simple "Clear all private data" will usually do the trick, although, when "loaning" my computer, I always fire up Chrome, that way their browsing won't get in my way later on FireFox... and really, we're supposed to believe that a: the hubby would have left this for his unsuspecting wife to find or b: she's married to him for the love of Pete, how could she not know he's a freak?!? Esp. if he is this careless.
D: Yes, we are talking about it, but what web browser are we all using to talk about it on?
Alright, sound off:
Me: FireFox (because of all the add-ons) with a Chrome chaser (for raw speed, when I don't need lots of add-ons), and I'm sure IE8 somewhere on my computer being ignored...
You:?
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 7:53PM
RobynM said...
Your video is no longer working - I pressed the button and got a "This is a private video. If you've been sent this, please make sure you accept the sender's friend request" message. Based on the descriptions, I'm not sure I want to go dig it up on my own.
Bubba - using Firefox, with an IE backup for a couple pages that just won't play with anyone else.
Reply
7-01-2009 @ 10:54PM
Mike Moody said...
Video is fixed -- for now!
7-02-2009 @ 12:55AM
hooligans aqui said...
Tisk, tisk, microsoft. Bad software company, Bad software company!
Reply
7-02-2009 @ 8:46AM
mrkorb said...
Holy crap, I wasn't expecting graphic vomiting. I thought she might, you know, turn her head and puke off the side of the table where we can't see it, but this is just wrong. WTF Microsoft? I already don't use your browser, now you want to make us sick?
Reply