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Did you “get” the new Microsoft commercial? Apparently, some people didn’t, so Microsoft officials were calling reporters Friday to explain it. The Redwood, Wash., company started airing a commercial Thursday night in which comedian Jerry Seinfeld encounters Bill Gates shopping for real leather shoes at Shoe Circus! - “quality shoes at discount prices, why pay more?” - and helps Gates squeeze into a pair. As they walk out of the store together eating churros, Seinfeld asks Gates if he and the other great brains at Microsoft “are ever going to come out with something that will make our computers moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we’re working?” In response, Gates wiggles his bottom.

The ad barely mentions the word “Microsoft” and never mentions Windows. Nevertheless, the Microsoft officials who phoned reporters Friday said it is indeed a campaign to brand Windows, “the start of a conversation … easily the largest marketing campaign we’ve ever had.” Microsoft plans to hire 155 “gurus” by the end of the year to work in Circuit City, Best Buy and other retailers to help customers pick out PCs, said Eric Hollreiser of Microsoft - presumably the way Seinfeld helped Gates pick out shoes. Microsoft is also working with PC manufacturers to deliver “a compelling Windows experience” - to study how long it takes, for example, for Windows to start up and shut down. Mobile phones and Microsoft’s Web site are also part of the plan. Hollreiser said Microsoft will do “a terrific job of delivering consumer information.”

Source: SF Gate

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Anne / Nielsen Wire:
McCain Tops Obama's Record-Breaking Ratings  —  On Thursday night, John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention bested Barack Obama's record-breaking viewership numbers from last week by 500,000 viewers.  —  More than 38.9 million people tuned in to coverage of the final night of the GOP convention.

The female-fronted band Heart has issued a statement denouncing John McCain's use of their '77 hit song "Barracuda" after he accepted the Republican nomination for president on Thursday night. Apparently, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's nickname on the high school basketball was "barracuda," so McCain's use of the song was meant as a reference to that.

But Heart is crying foul.

"I feel completely f---ed over," said Heart's Nancy Wilson to Entertainment Weekly, adding later with her sister and bandmate Ann Wilson via email, "Sarah Palin's views and values in no way represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

This is getting downright weird. It seems like each day another band issues another statement that John McCain is using their music without permission. First Jackson Browne sued McCain for using "Running on Empty," then it was Van Halen's turn to hassle him for his use of "Right Now."

Now, Heart is broken up about yet another of McCain's musical missteps. The way things are going, it's clear that the guy needs to start vetting his music a bit more carefully. Is Ted Nugent available?  Or maybe ABBA?

See Also:

• Ted Nugent's 'I Am The NRA' Costs $2 per MP3
• Palin Comparison: Which Ticket Would Be Better for Music?
• Moby On McCain, Cocaine and Hookers
• Ludacris' 'Obama Is Here' Song Invites, Ignites Controversy
• McCain Offends Van Halen, Sucks at Music
• First Paris, Now This: Jackson Browne Sues John McCain
• Barack Obama Doesn't Want to Work on Maggie's Farm No More

Photo: Ladybugbkt

Starting the second half of its fall season, the Macsimum coed softball team won both games against Motley Crew on Thursday night. The team is now 5-2 overall and in second place (one game behind Echo Hills). Games are played at Madison Park in Nashville, TN.

Sam Diaz / Between the Lines:
Seinfeld & Gates: Was this ad supposed to be funny?  —  The long-awaited $300 million ad campaign that Microsoft launched to counter Apple's successful “I'm a Mac, I'm a PC” campaign aired during the Thursday night kickoff to the NFL season.  Did you see it?  I missed it on TV but caught it on YouTube.