Redmond, Washington — Just before last week, software titan Microsoft announced an exclusive deal to promote its Windows 7. Well, the Redmond, Washington company on Monday said that it has canceled its sponsorship from an upcoming half-hour animated special designed by Fox featuring “Family Guy,” over content concerns.
Well, that remains one of the controversial marketing concept that will never see the light of the day, unless it is conveniently “leaked." And some people might have seen this coming a mile away.
In a statement, a Microsoft representative said the “Family Guy Presents: Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein’s Almost Live Comedy Show” scheduled to be aired on Nov. 8 was supposed to be part of a marketing partnership Microsoft sealed with several News Corp. properties — was not “a fit with the Windows brand.”
Microsoft had hoped to use the show to tout its just-released Windows 7 operating system. The “Almost Live Comedy Show” was set to run commercial-free, with Microsoft marketing messages built into the special.
Initially Microsoft ad exec Gayle Troberman said she was not concerned about how Windows 7 might be treated on the show. Then Microsoft execs participated in the reviewing an early version of the recording on October 16., which included MacFarlane and co-star Alex Borstein joking about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.
During the show, Microsoft sent MacFarlane and Fox several notes expressing their concern over the show’s content. The special’s content turned out to be a little too much for Redmond, and the company decided the show was “not a fit with the Windows brand.” Ultimately, the company decided just to drop out. Other Microsoft deal with Fox is intact and the variety show hopes to nab another sponsor.
“Family Guy” is famous for its frequent off-color if not raunchy humor, and Microsoft’s choice of the show as the backdrop for promoting Windows 7 raised more than a few eyebrows. “We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent.”
In spite of backing out of the comedy special, Microsoft still plans on moving forward with a 12-week college tour featuring movie nights hosted by Family Guy characters, online videos, and the chance for college students to try out Windows 7. The company may have been optimistic, however, in believing that MacFarlane and Borstein would not be as raunchy in live performance as their animated alter egos are on “Family Guy.”
Accordingly, the animated segment of “Almost Live Comedy Show” were the meekest parts of the show is its live-action segments (such as one in which MacFarlane and Borstein play Latino housekeepers) that probably raised the most eyebrows. Specials vet Ken Ehrlich produced “Almost Live Comedy Show,” which included the “Family Guy” 40-piece orchestra led by Walter Murphy.
Analyst Ben Bajarin said Microsoft probably approached the “Family Guy” group in hopes it could produce something bold and edgy that would counter perceptions Windows and Microsoft the company are boring. “But there ahs not been a consistent message from Microsoft,” Bajarin, analyst with Creative Strategies, said in a statement.
“Apple has had a clear, consistent brand message, but I have not seen that from Microsoft the past couple of years — a positioning statement that they are happy with,” said Bajarin. “When I first heard about ‘Family Guy,’ that seemed like an act of desperation. I would rather seem them develop a consistent message and stay with it, rather than throwing darts and seeing what sticks.”
The MacFarlane special is the second time this year that Microsoft has ditched from advertising featuring potentially offensive humor. In July, Redmond had to pull back a Web-only commercial called O.M.G.I.G.P. — Oh My God! I’m Gonna Puke –starring actor Dean Cain discussing the private browsing feature in Internet Explorer 8. The ad featured a woman who could not stop vomiting after discovering pornography on her husband’s computer. Microsoft said it pulled O.M.G.I.G.P. after receiving complaints about the ad.
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.
Apart from the MacFarlane special, Microsoft’s multi-million-dollar deal with Fox One includes a wide range of News Corp. properties, including Fox Sports, FX, Hulu, FoxSports.com on MSN, Fox Licensing and Merchandising and 20th Century Fox TV.
MacFarlane will host the evening via interstices. Along with “Almost Live Comedy Show,” Fox will air new episodes of MacFarlane’s other series that night — “American Dad” at 7:30, “Family Guy” at 8 and 9 and “The Cleveland Show” at 9:30.