MacDailyNews Take: “We’ll never really sponsor it. We’ll just jerk around MacFarlane et al. and ride the free publicity for the 7ista rollout, then take even more free pub when we pull out.” (laughs)
Schneider continues, “Fox still plans to air ‘Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show’ on Nov. 8, but with another, yet-to-be-named, sponsor.”
MacDailyNews Take: Note to Apple, you know what to do (or at least you should).
Schneider continues, “‘Almost Live Comedy Show’ was announced earlier this month as part of a major marketing partnership Microsoft had sealed with a wide range of News Corp. properties to promote the launch of the computer giant’s Windows 7 operating system… But that was before Microsoft execs attended the special’s taping Oct. 16. The program included MacFarlane and Alex Borstein — the voice of ‘Family Guy’ matriarch Lois — pitching Windows 7.”
“For most of the special, however, MacFarlane and Borstein made typical “Family Guy”-style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest,” Schneider reports. “Such material was apparently a bit much for Microsoft.”
MacDailyNews Take: The whole thing was cynically planned out ahead of time and, if not, Microsoft is even more inept than even we think.
Schneider continues, “‘We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of ‘Family Guy,’ but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand,’ said a Microsoft spokeswoman.
MacDailyNews Take: Why not? Microsoft’s 7ista is a joke on everyone with a PC.
Schneider continues, “Microsoft sent MacFarlane and Fox several notes expressing their concern over the show’s content but ultimately decided just to drop out. MacFarlane and Borstein pitched Windows 7 live in front of the studio audience in the middle of taping ‘Almost Live Comedy Show.’ It’s unclear how the show will be edited and whether the duo will have to shoot new scenes with the replacement sponsor.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, Apple should swoop in and then MacFarlane and Borstein can pitch what they actually use: Apple Macs running Mac OS X.
Schneider continues in the full article here.
I just assumed Bill Gates would be the Emperor in “Something Something Something Dark Side” …
“creative humor of ‘Family Guy’ “
Really, I have never seen such a thing.
Family Guy is a pretty edgy program — I don’t think it’s a fit for any mass-market product like Windows or Apple. If Apple would jump in as a sponsor on the heels of MS, it would scream of “me too” syndrome which is a poor marketing message, not to mention the “family values” types who would be up in arms with any company that associates themselves with such provocative fare.
That said, it will probably be a funny show. ; D
Family Guy is not PC enough for PCs.
MS never learns. They pay top dollar for consulting firms BS to get suckered. They proudly payed a million dollars to told brown would be a good color for Zune, that went well. How much did they pay for bad commercials until putting a Apple store in their ad worked.
“…riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest,….”
It sounds like something a Iranian president would deny. Not for Apple, but I hope they diss the heck out of M$. (I’m old, is diss spelled correctly?)
” riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest”
Why would Apple want to be associated with any of this? It would damage their image. Poor idea.
I’m don’t believe Apple should step in here. I can see headlines howling about how inappropriate the the material is. And Steve might suffer some nasty cuts, as well.
I do think this episode shows how anxious MS is to appear more desirable to the “hip” crowd. . . . I think they may actually want to be considered “cool.”
lol. “something something something Dark Side.” “something something something complete.” I love how MacFarlane shows his love for Star Wars but can still make fun of Lucas’ clunky writing.
Agreed, though, about Apple NOT jumping on this bandwagon. It’d be quite out of character, for one, and would not be in keeping with the majority of its target market.
In what way is this Mac news?
After the bizarre Gates/Seinfeld ads, the failed Windows 7 launch parties, and now this very public about-face, it seems pretty clear to me that Microsoft hasn’t the faintest idea of how to market Windows to anyone.
MacDailyNews Take: The whole thing was cynically planned out ahead of time and, if not, Microsoft is even more inept than even we think.
In this case, considering the track record of their marketing department thus far, I’d have to go with the latter.
Great Microsloth! You sponsor a show – but really dont know what kind of show it is! Good Lord! Family Guy works, because it says the things, people only think – that’s why it was cancelled, then miraculously brought back. It laughs at ‘political correctness’ because PC people usually ‘act nice’, but you still wont be coming over for dinner, or dating their daughter. FG is kinda like this forum, all is dandy online, but if we all ever met in person, the sexist, racist, homophobic, religious persecutors may reconsider their friendships
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> The Family Guy is actually very mild compared to South Park because SP actually hits on real topics in an intelligent (satirical) manner. SP frightens so many people, that they refuse to watch that ‘horrid cartoon’, it might cause them to have to think.
@ critic (and others like you) – Hint: try thinking bigger picture.
family guy rules. microsoft blows. no surprises here.
@AppleJack
For the last couple of months, M$ has been doing this “We are cool” astroturf campaign.
They had an bought and paid for article in Fortune magazine saying “Microsoft is cool again” with a picture of Windows7 written in graffiti that was “Commissioned” by M$. Read any M$ fluff piece written in the last couple of months and I bet it says something about “Cool”.
I will give M$ credit for getting a little smarter/more subtle with their astroturfing.
Family Guy isn’t funny. I call it ‘desperation comedy’.
So for once, Microsoft are demonstrating good taste. Shocking.
And yeah, OK. I have to admit Microsoft already have their hands full with another bad joke: 7ista. Good call MDN.
MDN, you are simply retarded. Apple would never be involved in any way with The Family Guy. Please, you half-wits.
@ critic/huh?
open mouth, insert foot. while you’re at it, insert both feet.
I am glad to see that MS has moral standards. I also hope Apple stays far away from this garbage.
wmd
@ wmd – Is that short for “Windows Marketing Department?”
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
agree with wmd
Fox has a two-edged strategy: give the populist masses their cheap “edgy” (i.e. sleazy) entertainment and neo-fascist skewed “news”, while defending the corporate oligarchy. The Rupert Murdochs are laughing all the way to the bank.
I disagree with MDN’s take. And I’m not trying to be snide or rude. But I don’t think Microsoft would be nearly Machiavellian enough to think it was a good idea to sponsor this event and then pull out of it for some free publicity. I truly think this is another example of Microsoft not thinking their advertising through. They have a very button down corporate culture and then they try to get “hip” and they they’re stunned that “hip” might be, well, you know, hip and kinda edgy, and then they realize they’ve made another complete blunder and have to pull out. It’s like they never even watched the show but just heard that it was cool and thought it’d make them cool to be a part of it. It’s fascinating to watch. There are going to be lots and lots of books written about the rise and fall of Microsoft.
I’m with the guys who are saying “Apple, don’t touch this one.”. Family Guy offers maybe a minute or two or excellent comedy per show. A bit more that’s “pretty good”. And a bit more that’s just plain tasteless.
As for the MDN comments … get a clue. I’ve read quite a few compos between SL and 7, and the general consensus is “great job, nearly as good as SL”. Now, I agree these were written by Stockholm Syndrome sufferers so I’ve made my mental adjustments – but the answer is still pretty much the same … “good job” for each. Sure, there are still some problems you could drop a house through, but there are solutions – albeit, noxious ones – for those. AV apps, for example. Buying the full package for a $1,000+ PC, for another. Suddenly you have a package that is an honest competitor, a close runner-up. Good enough, if your job absolutely requires that you run Visio regularly.
The compos all give SL the edge. I say they are being overly fair to MSFT in doing so, but they all give ample evidence that 7 is close. And decidedly better than Vista. A little less vitriol is called for. None of us are going to the Dark Side just because you neglected a snippy comment. Have some faith!
“FG is kinda like this forum, all is dandy online, but if we all ever met in person, the sexist, racist, homophobic, religious persecutors may reconsider their friendships”
Hmmm…. as you’ve just used the typical laundry list of ad hominem character assassination words used by those on the Left to dismiss those on the Right with whom they cannot hold a logical debate, I’m guessing that you voted Democrat last November.
This is a good thing. Microsoft is shit. Family Guy is shit. Had the two copulated, the resulting shitfest might have been too much for the world to survive.
I love Family Guy. But wasn’t the whole point when the original story broke that for any one company to pepper a show with embedded advertising may have been acceptable in the ’50s, but today would be simply crass. I think it’s incredibly hypocritical to criticize the MS deal an then argue that Apple should do the same thing.
Personally I like to think that Seth MacFarlane had this foisted on him by Fox, and he decided to ensure the show would be unacceptable to the fine folks at Redmond. Good work, Seth!
…and as a footnote…
Does MDN really think that Fox, which has this huge deal with Microsoft, would allow FG to do a side deal with Apple? How naïve, MDN!
Smart move by microsoft. Family Guy is absolute crap.
Since Family Guy is passed the bed time of most 4 year olds like Kylie, it is pointless to advertise on that show.
“For most of the special, however, MacFarlane and Borstein made typical “Family Guy”-style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest,” Schneider reports. “Such material was apparently a bit much for Microsoft.”
Hey, I’m no lover of µ$oft, but such ‘comedy’ is distasteful to me. It’s just not funny, IMHO. That said, it’s yet another example of µ$oft simply not doing their homework.
Cue the “windows 7. It’s a piece of crap!” jokes on the show.
Being familiar with Family Guy, my assumption is that mostly likely MS found some typical MacFarlane jabs at PCs, Windows and/or MS.
Or maybe they just didn’t like that Seth’s last name starts with Mac.
I really, really hate that show. It has no creative or redeeming value whatsoever.
M$ cant afford it anyway
Apple has more than enough money, cmon apple do it and pay mcfarlane a bonus even, and we can knock windows THE WHOLE TIME!!!!
@Falkirk: “I disagree with MDN’s take. And I’m not trying to be snide or rude. But I don’t think Microsoft would be nearly Machiavellian enough to think it was a good idea to sponsor this event and then pull out of it for some free publicity. I truly think this is another example of Microsoft not thinking their advertising through.”
EXACTLY!!!!! They heard FG was cool and thought it would make them cool. Then, when they saw what “cool” was they cold feet, as any sane mainstream corporation should. It was just one more in a loooooooong string of bad ideas from Microsoft. They don’t have a clue.
No loss for M$ there; Family Guy is a lame wannabe South Park.
That said, what was the rationale for this type of promotion?
wow, apparently alot of peeps don’t like family guy..
I say your all prudes, Family Guy ISNT A FAMILY SHOW, but it is funny as hell, and you are out of the loop if you don’t watch it. Stewie and Brian are the best.
On the surface Family Guy is crude and not funny. But if you actually watch it with an open mind it does have some unique and hilarious moments. By pushing past the edge of decency, repeatedly, it does occasionally achieve something worthwhile. Most people won’t find it funny, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t. I’m surprised it shows on network television at all.
To change the subject….what about those incredibly lame “My idea” ads?
“I’m no longer nervous about my computer crashing and freezing?” (or words to that effect). Talk about pathetic (though that coffee shop girl is cute)!
Family Guy is sometimes crass, sometimes indecent, sometimes politically incorrect, sometimes rude, sometimes unfunny, but all is forgiven because sometimes it is the funniest show on television. Seriously. Hilarious as bloody hell at times.
I thought most of you conservatives who frequent here would love Family Guy. It is capitalism at its dirty best. I guess the show hits too close to home for some of you sexually frustrated right wingers.
hehhehhehehheh….micro….soft! heh heh heh
Well, great, I guess I can watch this thing. I love McFarlane’s brand of comedy and would’ve hated to have missed the show, but watching him whore for Windows 7 would’ve been too much.
——RM
I saw this coming… Come on. I watch Family Guy regularly and it IS tasteless, and FUNNY AS HECK!
I was hoping they would go thru with it cuz I was waiting to see them ridicule Windblows 7.
From Snowy North Pole.
“Spark” said: “as you’ve just used the typical laundry list of ad hominem character assassination words used by those on the Left to dismiss those on the Right with whom they cannot hold a logical debate, I’m guessing that you voted Democrat last November.”
So, you are admitting that it would be the Republicans and other Right Wingers who cannot follow, or participate in, a “logical debate”? There are some serious intellects in the GOP, along with the mindless fear-mongers, jingoists, and phucktards. Reconsider.
Yeah, not to sound stodgy but I don’t think it would be a good fit for Apple’s brand either. I love them both, but it’s prolly not a good fit. Macfarlane is great, but if I was responsible for a cherished worldwide brand I wouldn’t be out sponsoring his stuff. Watching it yes, sponsoring it … no.
Maybe someone at MS should get one of those iPhones with a compass so they can find some direction.
I hope they had a clause in the contract that denied a refund if their sponsor (MS) pulled out. You should know what you’re getting into – at least a vague idea… Now FG has to scramble to find another sponsor or to fill the missing time.
MW: Pay
Family Guy is a distasteful show. Microsoft should not sponsor them at all. Apple hopefully will not sponsor this show EVER. Yes. I’m a real family guy and that show is nothing like life should be and is just offensive. Yep. I’m conservative and I own many Macs and iPhones and iPods.
OT. Politics. Run away.
DLMeyers ponders:
“So, you are admitting that it would be the Republicans and other Right Wingers who cannot follow, or participate in, a “logical debate”? There are some serious intellects in the GOP, along with the mindless fear-mongers, jingoists, and phucktards. Reconsider.:
*DING*
What disturbs me most about this one dimensional reductionist political FUD era is that the REAL Conservatives are not being represented at all. Instead they have the Neo-Con-Job infected ‘Republican’ (read ‘Totalitarian’) party to turn to, who have misrepresented them at every turn and systematically destroyed everything of value left in the USA.
Does anyone think that an honest Conservative would want HATE MEDIA representing them? NO!
Would any serious Christian conservative want to have their children listen to ‘Barack The Magic Negro’ on the radio?
That happened to my 7 year old friend two weeks ago while I was working with a church organization. Someone was playing the local Neo-Con-Job radio station. I had to explain to my young Christian friend that the song was ‘supposed to be funny.’ Actually, I wanted to cover her ears and lead her out of the room.
HATE is Christian? NO!
So kids, cut the crap and face the facts. There are Conservatives, with good intentions for the entire world around them. Then there are the Neo-Con-Job, Krystal-Kult-of-Krazies, Bush League, Project-for-the-New-American-Century (PNAC) SCUM who have nothing but bad intentions for the world around them, and they vocally make that clear to anyone with half-a-brain every single day via their HATE MEDIA propaganda blitz.
Real Conservatives find this era disgusting. Sometimes I envy the Amish.
OMG, Family Guy is going to be raggin’ on these pussies until Win8!
LOL – can’t wait.
@ the idea that Apple should stay far away from Family Guy….
I agree with the idea of “no in-show sponsorships”, but I am pretty sure Apple runs commercials during the normal Family Guy shows. If Apple were really concerned with FG content, they wouldn’t run the ads during ANY Family Guy program.
@ Ottawa Mark: “…embedded advertising may have been acceptable in the ’50s, but today would be simply crass.”
I 100% agree with you. Have you ever seen “The Biggest Loser”? Watch that show one time and you’ll know who it is – YOU! They have at least 4 different in-show product placement ads thinly veiled as “weight loss how-to’s”. It’s sickening. Also, the show is 2 hours long and contains about 50 minutes of “content”.
I can see their point, but really, had they never SEEN Family Guy?!? You really ought to know what you are getting in to beforehand….
Microsoft pulled its sponsorship of the Family Guy special because they were concerned about its content? What the fuck?
Have they never seen Family Guy before? Is this the first time they’ve ever heard of Seth MacFarlane?
No matter why they pulled out, one thing’s for sure: MS has just made itself out to be as uncool as humanly possible among the target demo they were trying to reach. And I’m only guessing here, but do you think MacFarlane might be a little annoyed at this after having already filmed the special and shilled Windows 7 to his audience?
Also, I’d say this sends a pretty clear message about what to expect out of a partnership with Microsoft even if you’re comedian and not a software developer or hardware manufacturer. They’ll still knife you in the back.
MW: united. As in, “What do politics keep us from being?”.
Apple should keep away and just let McFarlane add some bits that totally rip into MS and Windows.
Hell hath no fury like an animator scorned.
The whole thing was cynically planned out ahead of time and, if not, Microsoft is even more inept than even we think.
Never attribute to conspiracy that which can be explained by mere incompetence. And M$ is ur-incompetence.
No more Mafia$oft bribery?
Giggity-giggity-goo!!!
“riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest”
Like those above me … when have Holocaust jokes been acceptable, and why does MDN criticize Microsoft for not sponsoring them?