Due to the fact that Windows is currently losing market share to main competitor Apple Incorporated, the company has hired advertising agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky to give Windows Vista a makeover. A $300 million one. Consequently, a marketing campaign that covers TV, the web and point-of-sale outlets was launched Thursday with an ad that shows comedian Jerry Seinfeld helping Bill Gates buy shoes at a discount store.

When the latter picks out a pair called The Conquistador, Seinfeld remarks that they run very tight, which is supposed to be the punch-line of their amusing piece of conversation.

A large portion of Microsoft’s profit comes from Windows, the group generating revenue that amounted to approximately $16.9 billion during the fiscal year that ended in June.

Different versions of Windows are being used by one billion consumers worldwide. Nevertheless, the Vista version didn’t quite catch on when it was first released in January last year, since it required numerous new drivers and was considerably different from Windows XP.

Presently, the number of hardware devices and components compatible to Vista is two times larger than when the product was launched.

The majority of PCs run on Windows operating systems, but Apple’s Mac has been gaining market share that has recently risen to 7.8%, which is an increase by 1.6% from last year.

Senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows and online services business Bill Veghte, stated in an interview that the commercial featuring Gates and Seinfeld is intended to be a conversation starter between the company’s product and the targeted consumers.