When the first Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld television commercial was released about three weeks ago, there were mostly negative reviews of it. After all, the spot was odd, didn't mention Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) products at all, and really did not have any connection to what Microsoft was all about. Most likely, this was by design. This was Microsoft's attempt to fend off those cute (but now, annoying) Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) ads that have a "hip and cool" actor portraying the Mac PC while a geeky, nerdy actor portrays the Windows PC. And this was Microsoft's comeback? That was the question many asked.

The second commercial in the series was much better -- but it seemed more like a sitcom mini-episode than anything. The editing and writing was admirable, but still -- the connection with Microsoft's products, vision and former leader and founder was small and light at best. Where was Microsoft going with this? Was the company trying to re-invent Seinfeld's own award-winning sitcom that aired on NBC until 1998? Who knows? Throughout both commercials, though, Microsoft was generating a buzz. Although much of the best-covered buzz was negative.

Although there are reports that Microsoft is "dumping Seinfeld," perhaps he was just a way to generate initial buzz about Microsoft's campaign to position Windows Vista and other Microsoft products as helpful lifestyle tools. Although the company says that a move away from the Seinfeld-Gates shtick was a planned move, maybe it was and maybe it wasn't. Regardless, Microsoft does have an enormous challenge to really get consumers convinced that a Windows PC can be just as cool as an Apple PC. Maybe a rotation of stand-up comics throughout its spots could do the trick.

Have you seen the ads? If not, you can watch the first one below.

My first reaction was -- 'Huh? What was that all about? What is it trying to say?' And it seems I wasn't alone. One review after another says pretty much the same thing: Just as Seinfeld was a show about nothing, so are the ads. Or as my fellow blogger Jonathan Berr said: "It was like a bad Seinfeld episode."

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is looking to counter the bad publicity of Windows Vista and the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) successful commercials with this $300 million ad campaign (of which a cool $10 million goes to Jerry Seinfeld himself), but many question if this is the right use of the money.

According to Moneyweb, software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is hooking up with Jerry Seinfeld. No, they're not trying to revive the comedian's sitcom career (although that would be cool). It seems Microsoft is feeling a bit blah about its brand equity, so it's looking to initiate a hip advertising campaign that will tout the company's image and its powerful Windows Vista technology.

No doubt, the advertising campaign from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) that makes fun of the PC-Windows platform has a lot to do with it. I love those commercials, and I think it's about time Microsoft came to its senses and decided to do something serious to answer them. A campaign with Seinfeld, if done with a maximum amount of creative wit, will work wonders. But of course, that's the point -- it has to be done right. Seinfeld is a big name, and his presence carries a lot of weight with consumers.

Still, I have reservations about using him in an ad campaign. Am I the only one who wasn't impressed by his American Express commercials? I liked Seinfeld in his famous television show, but seeing him pitch charge cards didn't make me want to apply for one. I thought he was boring in the format.

Apparently, ad firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky will be doing the ads featuring Seinfeld, and they were the creative force behind the Burger King commercials with the creepy King mascot. Those commercials rock. It would be nice if the firm could do something as edgy with Seinfeld and Microsoft, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm not sure that kind of lightning could strike twice.

DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) is one of those fun stocks to own. Who wouldn't be happy pinning their portfolio's fortunes to Shrek and a bee character based on Jerry Seinfeld? Yep, this is a play on Hollywood animation; the question is, how did DreamWorks do for its fourth quarter and fiscal year?

DreamWorks Animation can be very competitive with Disney (NYSE: DIS) and its Pixar brand when it comes to computer cartoons. For that matter, it is competitive with others like Sony (NYSE: SNE), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) -- they've all had computer cartoons in the marketplace. This latest earnings report proves it. Revenues for Q4 increased 42% to $290 million, and earnings came in at $0.98 per diluted share -- this compares to a loss of $0.20 per diluted share in the year-ago period. Revenues for the full year truly were animated -- they rose 94% to $767 million. Earnings for 2007 equaled $2.17 per diluted share. Talk about blowing away the previous year's stat -- 2006 earnings per stub came in at a mere $0.15.