Worst Tech Commercial Ever, Probably
If Harry McCracken, who has been writing about personal computers for 29 years, says this Microsoft spot is the worst technology commercial ever, he's probably right. Warning: It's also gross.
The ad attempts to sell the new Internet Explorer Web browser on a simple premise: Your husband is probably looking at truly disgusting things on the internet, and this product will help him hide those things, from you.
Another ad in the same series makes even less sense, illustrating how IE helps you alienate your friends with annoying links. And there's this one, which just freaks us out.
These spots are, at least, marginally more rational than the absurdist, quickly-abandoned Jerry Seinfeld commercials for Vista. They just need a nice tagline. How about, "Internet Explorer: Why Not Drag Out Your Dysfunctional, Creepy Relationship a Bit Longer?" For the eighth iteration of Microsoft's browser, that's kind of perfect!