Apparently there’s something worse than being despised and that is to be utterly irrelevant. Gruber hits it spot on in his commentary on Microsoft’s panic response to the mixed reception of the Seinfeld ads. A company that stands for nothing can not market themselves out of that position.

I actually liked Microsoft better when they stood for something. Even when that something was being a ruthless corporation hell-bent on world domination. Batman needs the Joker too.

It’s hard to imagine that the once mighty 800-pound gorilla in the room has been reduced to a mere monkey. A monkey with a $230B market cap, but a monkey no less.

I pity the marketers working the Microsoft account. There’s no way to win. If they go vague, they get people_ready. If they go edgy, they get panic and push back. Talk about a set of golden handcuffs.