Jerry and Dean were funny. Jerry and Bill? Sort of. The Shoe store schtick wasn't funny at all. The house guest schtick would have been funnier if it had been edited to say, one minute 30 seconds.

Why does Microsoft void mentioning Windows? "I'm a PC?" Why not just say, "I'm generic."

Steve Ballmer rightly said in an internal email, echoing our opinion (thanks to Apple Insider:)

"In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving," Ballmer wrote in the email. "Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience."

Gee, ya think? Let's see: computer, Mac OSX, iPod, iTunes. I'm good. What you got? Operating system, MP3 player (what was that called again...oh yeah, Zune), Xbox. What do you run that OS on again?

Today's lesson: the power of a word or name to evoke an experience is powerful. It connects the customer to the company. Perhaps it's time for a name change for Microsoft?

Has anybody seen my nail clippers?

PS: Fast Company renders a summary of reactions and response to the ads. Successful? You decide!