Another one of the ads about nothing, as people like calling them, just came out and got everybody talking by the watercooler, on blogs, in newspapers, over the fence and at the bus stop. This is the second one out of the $300 million campaign that Microsoft plans on doing with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Aesthetically speaking, it looks bad, as bad as the first, but now it’s three times longer. It’s a short film actually, something like a crossover between a mockumentary and a reality show, about two men in their 50s who are, I hope it’s safe to say, not the best looking guys there are, but two guys that would go for the funny and smart characterization, rather than attractive or sexy. Anyway, as I was saying, nothing really attractive or beautiful is actually seen in the 4 minute ad. But after a while, there it is…You see the genius of it. They might actually be up to something, these two. Especially because one of them is one of the smartest men in the world and the other one is probably one of the funniest, so how come we were unconfident that something good is up their sleeve?

The first really smart thing about it is that you are watching an ad that takes more than 4 minutes and you just want to see what’s going to happened next. In times like these, when publicity is not only expensive, it is also really-really short and, in order to be effective you have to say your name or your company's as fast as you can in an ad.

And it’s not only that. You get so tangled up in this distracting piece of advertising, that half-time through it, you realize that you’re smiling, mainly because nobody delivers a line like master of his domain Jerry Seinfeld. It really isn’t about nothing; it’s about mustard, about the leather giraffe or family secret money under the mattress. It exploits all the cliché about the suburban American lifestyle and the presence of two of the richest guy in the world at a modest family table make things even worse than buying shoes at the circus. But what they’re trying is making a connection with regular people, the ones that still use Windows.

After the confusing ad in the mall, this next one is refreshing in a way. Now that we are convinced that the waiting is actually pleasure delay and that the next ads will explain more about the actual Microsoft products.

"Just as somebody might tell a joke to lighten up a room or get somebody's attention before changing gears, these first ads were designed to tap people on the shoulder and say, 'Excuse me. We're back and we'd love a few moments of your time.” My answer would be:” Well, yes, maybe, just don’t make me do the robot dance in the middle of the street.”