“I won’t be happy til the whole world hates me.” Not my words, for once, but those of Seth MacFarlane on stage last year at Carnegie Hall. The audience laughed, as well they might (“he was on the Internet and I’m in college”) , on the assumption that their hero was joking. And yet, and yet…
On November 8th at 8:30pm, viewers of Fox in the US will watch in horror as the network gives over thirty whole minutes of airtime to a Windows 7-sponsored episode of Family Guy.
Just take a moment to let the horror of that fact settle in your brain. Multi-millionaire Seth MacFarlane – who, by the way, uses a Mac – has decided to sell the soul of his flagship show to Redmond. For money.
Of course, producing art to order is always a tricky call. Back in the 16th century Michelangelo was quoted as saying “One cannot live under pressure from patrons, let alone paint,” and yet even he was forced – from time to time – to succumb to the pressures of paying the rent.
In his painting ‘The Conversion of Saul’, the face of Saul (who would have been around 30 when he took the road to Damascus) is replaced with the far more elderly face of Pope Paul III. Why? Because Pope Paul III was the pontiff who commissioned and financed the work. It was a tacky move, sure, but changing the facial features of one character (whose true appearance is conjecture anyway) is still a light year away from letting your sponsor dictate your entire storyline.
We’re fortunate that Michelangelo didn’t share MacFarlane’s principles. If he did, then visitors to the Pauline Chapel today could gaze in awe at a masterpiece entitled “Saul’s Conversion To Realising How Freaking Awesome Paul III Is” – a masterpiece which would almost certainly feature a cutaway joke about the 16th century equivalent of the old man in Family Guy who chases young boys. Or ‘Michelangelo’ as he was known in those days.
What’s worse is that MacFarlane is not just an artist but also a comedian – and the whole point of comedy is to make your subject look ridiculous. It is simply not possible to write funny jokes about Windows 7 while simultaneously making Microsoft happy. It’s like watching a clown getting a handjob from a banker; it just stops being funny the moment the money guy gets involved in the act.
Watch this MacFarlane-voiced preview clip from Microsoft and you’ll see what I mean – in it we see Brian rehashing a horribly meta Family Guy joke (presumably because hardcore fans are the only ones who will still be watching) while Stewie puts “Windows 7 through its paces”. After listing the many splendid features of the sponsor’s product we discover what Stewie is actually doing with Windows. He’s using Twitter… to tweet the words “I’m using Twitter!”. Awesome!
No, not awesome. That other thing.
Awful.
Seriously, Seth, stick a fork in yourself, you’re done. If that’s really the best joke you could find about Microsoft – a joke that would work perfectly well with Stewie using a Mac or any cellphone – then the whole show is doomed. It’s not like there aren’t a billion jokes about Microsoft that would be funny. Photoshopping out Cleveland from the episode and replacing him with a white Polish Guy, for example. That would be funny. The episode crashing halfway through and refusing to restart. That would be funny. Telling Microsoft to go screw themselves and instead writing an episode about them trying to brand TV shows. That would be freaking hilarious.
But to be fair to MacFarlane, there are two ways to assess his culpability in this abortion of a judgment call. On one hand you might call him a sell out – a whore whose relentless pursuit of even greater wealth, despite already having a contract with Fox worth $100 million a year, has lead him to throw his credibility – along with Peter, Lois, Brian, Stewie, Chris, Meg et al – under the bus.
Alternatively, one might be more charitable. One might call him an idiot – a man who didn’t realise that accepting $100 million of Fox’s money would oblige him to watch impotently as his credibility, Peter, Lois, Brian, Stewie, Chris, Meg et al were thrown under that same bus. Either way, they’re under the bus, and it’s his fault. Youa culpa, Seth.
But while Seth MacFarlane is obviously the most guilty party here, you also have to ask yourself what on earth Microsoft’s marketing geniuses are thinking. I mean, when you’re watching that clown getting a handjob from a banker, the only person you feel less warmly towards than the clown is the banker. Precisely how gullible does Microsoft think its target audience is? So gullible that we’ll sit through thirty minutes of unfunny Windows-plugging bullshit and still be left believing that Windows 7 is a brand (urk!) we want to align (urk!) ourselves with? That’s the kind of dumb thinking that MacFarlane would gleefully would parody in a cutaway, like the one in which he blamed Jim Henson for wrong sounding Muppets: “it’s like that time Microsoft sponsored Family Guy and hoped no one would notice the difference”.
But, hell, there’s no sense in getting too worked up about half an hour of Family Guy murder. Every show has its shark-jumping moment, and with millions of dollars in the bank and American Dad getting consistently edgier and funnier, MacFarlane probably isn’t too worked up either. “Meh, let it die; I’ll bury it under this enormous pile of money in my basement, next to whoever wrote the scripts for The Cleveland Show.”
Really the thing we should all be worried about is that Microsoft Guy could be the start of a trend, not of product placement in television – that ship has sailed – but of entire shows being rebranded at the whim of technology companies.
This month the BBC reported that spending on online advertising in the UK has finally taken over from television advertising for the first time. The UK is the first major market where it’s happened, but other European countries are close behind and it’s only a matter of time before it happens in the US. As technology companies see their coffers swell and poor old television is forced to scramble for every available pound, euro or dollar we could be heading for a point where the only way television can survive is if every single show is re-written to promote a huge tech brand.
You think I’m paranoid. Of course you do. And yet I’ll take almost no pleasure in telling you I told you so when America finds itself subjected to shows like…
- Two And A Half Meg: A hilarious, Comcast-sponsored, sitcom in which two single, middle-aged men marvel at how fast their home broadband connection allows them to download pornography important documents.
- Hot (Or Not) Betty: Comedy drama, commissioned by hotornot.com, in which every cast member is filmed from an angle that completely misrepresents their true attractiveness.
- Is Yahoo! Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?: Fun for all the family as a team of ten year olds is pitted against the recently-rebranded search portal. Who will be first to rehash wire news stories about reality show celebrities or predict tomorrow’s weather in Prague?
- How I Really Met Your Mother: Brought to you by Craigslist casual encounters. (See also: Gays’ Anatomy)
- Extreme Makeover – MySpace Edition: For when just removing that fucking hideous animated background isn’t enough.
- Sex and the Citysourced: Four rapidly aging New York women roam Manhattan tracking down teenage graffiti artists. And having sex with them.
- 30 Rick: YouTube-backed hilarity, promising the behind the scenes adventures of a late night comedy show, but actually delivering back to back Rick Astley clips. Psych!
- Entourage: Unpopular spin off from The Office, only available on Macs.
This is your future, Seth. Wokka wokka – who wants to hear a funny ass joke?
Mouse, a crack team of geeks solve the worlds medical problems via Yahoo Answers
FlashDriveForward – Each person wakes up to find a all the worlds USB keys have files on them from 6 months in the future
24(meg) – Watch as Jack Bauer downloads a 1tb file form the internet using a home broadband connection.
Your problem is you still watch television. You sound like my F#@&!^g Grandpa bitching about how no one respects his outdated, useless, information super highway. The newspaper.
Hilarious post. Indeed the unfunniest family guy clip I’ve seen in years. Too bad MacFarlane agreed to make this, I really thought I’d be a cool guy. \:
gurantee if it was an apple sponsored episode this techcrunch homo wouldnt be whining
well if it was an Apple sponsored episode it would still be ridiculous but at least it wouldn’t make Seth a hypocrite. He uses a Mac, Family Guy is “made” on Macs– like most things in the professional media and animation fields. Listen to Brian (seth) run down that list of features and tell me you actually believe Macfarlane knows what the hell any of them even are lol. I love Family Guy and the fact Seth has always used his show to advertise his beliefs and opinions, its gutsy and at least they were HIS opinions. Its saddening to see somebody so outspoken against this kind of BS acting like the kind of corporate puppet he seems to loathe. I sincerely hope for the sake of his reputation that he had no choice in this and that it was a Fox, M$ deal. I don’t blame M$ in this at all BTW, they probably think its a great idea and it may turn out to work well for them. I just hope for M$ sake people don’t see this as an insult to their intelligence– the last thing they need is to insult their customers “Mojave” style again lol.
As I post below, Family Guy is definitely and likely not made on a Mac, but on PC. Hope that didn’t blow your innocence towards the cartoon world (they’re all made on PCs).
congrats on achieving politician-like control over the English language. First off, saying something is “definitely and likely not made on a Mac” is a contradiction; its either “likely” or “definite”. At least you left yourself some room to back-peddle when I point out what a complete ass you are. Being wrong alone does not make you an ass but being wrong while simultaneously talking down to somebody does. Family Guy IS made on Macs; watch any behind the scenes features and you will see all the in-house animators using Macs; hell, every computer in every office appeared to be Macs (I’ve seen this on the DVD and on some videos in class that showed behind the scenes of several animated shows-Family Guy was one of them). My “innocence” toward the cartoon world must come from being a current fine art major with emphasis in animation. Funny thing is despite PC’s obviously being the prominent computer on campus and being much cheaper for the school our program uses Macs, and only Macs. We even had to take a class to become thoroughly familiar with OSX because its so heavily used in the professional animation, graphic design, and publication fields. I don’t claim that Macs are “better” than PCs or even that I know that EVERY professional animator uses a Mac because there are always exceptions-I doubt you NEED a Mac to be a great animator or digital artist. I DO however know this: Family Guy uses Macs. BTW after a certain point in animation you are not using OSX or Windows but a system of computers running specific animation framing software so the whole argument is almost a moot point.
And BTW Seth Macfarlane is not a “hero” of mine who has “let me down”. The comment is what it is-a comment. Don’t read too far into it and try to act like you know me.
@WhoMe?
While you’re a student in fine art college studying animation on Macs provided by your school, I’ve been working in animation production in all angles and dealt with studios overseas, in the US, Europe and Canada. Oh, I’ve been working in the animation business since 1995. Directed and produced my share of projects too.
While your school may be using Macs, I don’t know many studios that make their animated prods on Macs. I’d like to know the name of those great 2D animation programs that run on Macs. ToonBoom Studio? Please. Frankly I’d be wary of hiring grads that only knew how to work on Mac programs in an animation studio.
No overseas studio in Korea, China or the Philippines is gonna stock up on Macs just to please McFarlane. Nope. All these places run on cheap PCs that run most animated programs.
So while as a student, you may think you know everything and live a sheltered life on a campus full of Macs, in the real world boy, people use PCs to make animated cartoons. Even at Steve Jobs’ Pixar. They also use Unix systems, of course.
The cost of putting Macs in a production would bankrupt most overseas studios. The same studio that works on Family Guy, Dexter, Scooby Doo and so on will not use Macs just to please one studio.
Again, please give me the name of the industrial animation programs that run on Macs. Photoshop? Flash? Electric Image (whoops, you were in diapers when that Mac program died)?
The DVD shots that you see show the computers of the directors and executives, not the cheap PCs of those Chinese animators who work on farmed our projects all over China.
ok…please read a comment in full before replying in a demeaning manor. If you notice in my comment I said the “in-house” animators had Macs. I understand that the outsourced animation that goes to a studio in Korea is probably made on a PC or as you said, a Unix system. Obviously a studio is not going to bankrupt themselves to please somebody’s fondness for a specific OS. I even closed my comment by saying the Mac vs PC thing is basically irrelevant because after a certain point in animation you are most likely not using Windows or OSX–apparently you missed that part. Also, why would you think I’m gunning for a job working as an underpaid animator in Korea, the Philippines, or China? obviously most students in school today for animation are aiming for the early production jobs because we can’t compete with the cheap labor costs of outsourcing the vast majority of animation overseas. I understand you have experience but, as you probably understand, the globalization of jobs is rapidly changing every industry–including animation. An animation career today is becoming more a path of storyboarding, tweening, and basic early-phase work before outsourcing something to a cheaper studio. I’m not going to college so I can make peanuts in China just so I can be involved in animation at every level of development. I respect your position but its not like my school is completely incompetent in their course material–they too have connections with a couple studios and even try to provide internships with them to certain students ( I admit these are not major studios or anything but its not like they are just making shit up or teaching us wrong for laughs). The entire direction of the industry is changing right now–as are many other industries. You may cut me down for being young (and no I don’t think I know everything) but certainly somebody of your age and experience would not be so naive as to think that the way things are is the way they will always be. I don’t even care about the whole PC vs Mac thing…its stupid and pointless. Hopefully you actually read this before taking something I say out of context again. My intent is not to sit and get into petty arguments with you and if you read my first comment I even said this Family Guy episode would be ridiculous even if it WAS apple. I was only intending to point out that if Seth was a huge Windows guy this episode would–at the very least–not make him a hypocrite or a sell-out because he would actually be voicing support for a message he actually believes in– as he has done many times in the past. My comment was not a PC vs Mac thing.
I was and am still responding to this point which is not true.
“Family Guy is “made” on Macs– like most things in the professional media and animation fields.”
This not true, not even at Pixar.
well then you may have noticed the quotation marks around the word “made”…If I wanted to say that Family Guy is made on Macs, with no room for a deeper conversation (one that was completely irrelevant to the point I was making BTW ) why would I have set the word “made” off from the rest of the sentence? Obviously, as I’ve said, I am talking about Seth and the in-house Family Guy staff–animators included– using Macs and since the in-house staff is responsible for the shows content (NOT a studio in China) that it is like pitching a product you don’t really believe in or use. I guess we could chalk this whole thing up as a failure (by myself included) to either effectively communicate or to accurately understand what the point I was trying to make was. In any case I feel pretty stupid having devoted so much time to what amounts to a petty argument in which neither of us will seemingly be happy unless we “get” the other with the last word. So by all means, hit me with your best…I’ve said all I need to say and feel I’ve explained my position…
Cheers
dude shut up. i just read you comment where you said it’s made on mac’s and the show isn’t. no fucken decent studio would be workingon macs fulltime anyways. everyone talks about how pc’s give you the death screen because windows suck and some person doesn’t know how to navigate, or some virus or .file compromises your computer. no one cares. what’s his face, johnny is correct and you aren’t. and anyone who knows anything about animation or design or art knows this already so your thinking everything nowadays are done on macs is simply not true. people/studios are mostly hybrid anyways where artists might be using mac’s or pc’s at home or at work. i know about 3 mac studios of all the companies i follow and the rest mostly use pc’s that are customised and run either or os’. despite the fact that the artist might use whatever.
+1
If Seth, your hero, has let you down, then you are a sad individual.
‘techcrunch homo’..
Hm, OK.
Moron.
MacFarlane loves the money. Can’t blame him! I mean Family Guy got canned for once. I bet he’s just milking it for all it’s worth this time around hahah
If I want to cringe for half an hour straight I’ll be sure to tune in to this episode. ugggh
Nice pics
Oscar award winning actress. Nipple slip. Bravo.
Paul, your genius.
What about it?
Grammar police:
Your under arrest
You’re
Sarcasm detector?
Paging Sarcasm detector?
Your wanted in in aisle: Justin A.
Paul, you are a genius. You know how I know? I forward your pieces to friends who don’t read TechCrunch. I’m sure a lot of people do. And I’m sure Mike is thrilled.
lol. the world that was ending is now hurtling down. fuck this shit man. i hope it’s atleast funny. how the heck did this deal get done? i’m by no means an apple supporter so i’m like hmm, but i don’t love m$ either. i didn’t know this was happening, although i knew that online advertising is getting more money than tv, same thing here, and i knew the pope 3 story (thanks for putting it in), but i don’t think people will stand for these overt placements. can you imagine Is Yahoo! smarter than a fifth grader? i love family guy (although i understand it’s losing viewers), but i don’t watch it a lot anymore. i think i’m going to make sure i see this episode in a couple weeks. maybe they’ll have a win7 party.
This has been happening for awhile now. Look at McDonald’s.
Anyone wanna read a funy ass column? It’s like Paul’s specialty and junk.
Good stuff man, but not sure I agree this is the death of us all.
So, instead of watching a half-hour episode of Family Guy sponsered by Windows, I have to suffer through reading a long article with the soul purpose of some idiot mac-user bashing the idea.
Who said I use a Mac? You may have missed some of the subtle points of the column. Like, say, any of the words.
I’ll leave it to someone more petty to correct your spelling of ’sponsered’. Never a good idea to make a mistake like that when you’re calling someone an idiot.
“I’ll leave it to someone more petty to correct your spelling of ’sponsered’.”
Um… I think you’re being petty. Oh, and you’re also an ass.
We’re not allowed to edit comments.
ouch…
Not to mention that it should be ’sole’ not ’soul’.
If you going to be a spelling Nazi? You should at least make sure your right!
-
Sole==Bottom of your shoe.
-
Soul==That which animates you. Or the human embodiment of something; “the soul of honor”
Hahaha, even as a Dutchman I can correct Lance Deeply.
One says ‘the sole purpose’, because besides being the bottom of one’s shoes, it also means: ‘exclusive: not divided or shared with others’.
And on spelling Nazi: well, the msn and sms youth more and more fails to produce normal sentences, let alone correctly spelled ones. So yes, it’s good to point out typos.
Seriously? Since we’re all playing “spelling Nazi,” sole is actually correct in this instance. Words in the english language tend to have multiple meanings and sole used here means: only –as in sole survivor.
Remember your context clues, my fellow nazis..
Wow – this comment has everything.
“If you going to be a spelling Nazi? You should at least make sure your right”
Seriously? You capitalised Nazi but fucked up a you *and* a you’re? And that’s before you even got to your point.
Sole = bottom of your shoe *and* another word for only.
You absolute fucking grade-A illiterate moron.
I saw techcrunch had an article picked up by the Washington Post, so I say “Hey, this must be a good tech blog, let’s check it out.” Then I see Pauly boy’s article. I didn’t really agree with the article, but whatever, you’re the journalist, I don’t have to like it. But your comments you left in this thread are truly pathetic. I would like to applaud your efforts to put on a good face for the blog. Bravo.
And to the rest of you self-proclaimed spelling nazis: if you can understand a message that was written and you still correct it, it makes you a prick, not a spelling nazi.
It you are going to criticize someone’s grammar mistake, it would look a lot more convincing if you were aware of your own errors. It is you’re,
What if he is a soul survivor though? Cuz everybody know tha game don’t stop.
As a journalist, you should be prepared for non-constructive criticism from people.
Whether you agree with comments or not, even if they are rude, replying with “You absolute fucking grade-A illiterate moron.” will put a good percentage of readers off you.
Just because this is the internet and not in print shouldn’t mean we can all act like angry 13 year olds in chat rooms.
Wow,
As someone else pointed out. Using profanity to make or accentuate a point in your article is alright but after reading:
“You absolute fucking grade-A illiterate moron.”
You completely lost your credibility.
Oh and by the way, maybe you should use your Mac to spell-check your comments prior to posting them? (Especially one’s criticizing other’s comments.)
Your horrible rant should have read:
“You absolute, fucking grade-A, illiterate moron.”
- notice the commas?
You are perfectly wrong about the commas.
‘Absolute fucking grade-A illiterate’ is totally acceptable, and is actually a better joke (’grade-A illiterate’) than ‘Absolute, fucking grade-A… illiterate moron’, which is what your version would mean. There are objective grammatical mistakes and subjective differences of syntax. What we have here is the latter, not the former.
Thanks for your suggestion though.
Honestly, ninety percent of the reason I read Paul’s articles is because he rips new assholes for every dumbass that tries to prove they’re smarter than him.
Not that he’s the smartest thing ever- he just doesn’t look like an idiot, because when he pretends he is, he’s kidding.
If you don’t like how an author treats you, stop reading their work. Don’t whine about it in the comments section- that just makes it harder for those of us who DO enjoy their work to actually enjoy it.
Until he rips you a new asshole. Then I start enjoying it a lot more.
+1 @ Paddy Foran… and probably Paul too. Why not. 8-P
Last I checked, Paul Carr lacks the requisite mind-control abilities to make you read an article against your will.
Right?
Best fred EVER!
Disclaimer: Before the spelling Nazis attack, “fred” was my sorry attempt at humour.
i am really laughing out loug to both yours and mike’s comments. thanks. i mean i needed something after lance deeply’s trollish fail.
How I Really Met Your Mother: Brought to you by Craigslist casual encounters. (See also: Gays’ Anatomy) hahahah Like this one !!!
I think I’ll watch it, before I talk about how funny/unfunny it was. It’s not like they haven’t had full themed episodes before – Star Wars, etc. I don’t care if money is changing hands, it will either be funny or not.
Exactly, I hate how people jump the gun and assume something will bomb before it even comes out. It’s a sample of bad journalism.
just fucking watch the trailer is painful
Yeah, because trailers will definitely let you know if a movie is bad before you go see it. Oh, if I had a dime for every movie whose trailer was awesome and ended up being a piece of shit on the sole of my shoe…
When was the last time you saw a terrible trailer for a brilliant movie?
Agreed 100%. What the hell is with writing a 2000 word article criticizing an episode of a show that hasn’t aired and you haven’t seen, simply because you don’t like the premise.
Paul, maybe the episode WILL suck, but it’s bullshit to judge without seeing the episode first. You might as well be writing movie reviews after only watching a trailer.
Omg…… Only hardcore fans? There is no such things as simple fans for family guy, I can tell you one, nobody is going to watch something else just because it’s about microsoft, or someone is getting paid big bucks for the ep, seriously, use your brains before you think up some bs, god gave them you for a reason.
I hope they put this episode on this season’s DVD compilation. I can never wait to buy a commercial…
This is really no different than product placement in other tv shows and movies. I think it is a great marketing idea and the fact that blogs are picking it up 3 weeks in advance is a sign that this will end up being good for Microsoft and will likely make Seth richer.
I think TV will have to change the way they currently sell ads, because with DVR/TIVO people are not forced to watch ads.
With all that said I do agree that this could be considered a sale out of TV shows and may cause the demise of good shows that end up taking too much influence from paid sponsors. Just think if political campaigns use this…man we won’t get a break during elections from the constant in your face advertising.
Smart comment, I completely agree with what you’re saying.
Think about it Family Guy talks shit about others thats the funny part how are you going to avoid making fun of m$
“This is really no different than product placement in other tv shows and movies.”
Have to really disagree with you here. This is basically a long commercial, completely different than say Apple’s deal with HBO to subtly put a Mac in every HBO show when the scene calls for a computer. And if Microsoft had any brains they would realize that this sort of ad placement is better anyway because it causes the product to seep into people’s subconscious. Much, much better than a blatant ad.
Yeah but what TV shows can subtly demonstrate the difference between Windows 95 and Windows 7?
Great article Paul!
Just one thing – that clip is the promo by MS, it’s not a preview from the actual ep. It’s a dubover from http://www.yout...h?v=TMf6V5ct29I
Wow! You just totally disrupted the premise for this entire article!
Josh says a few comments above that we should just wait and see if it’s funny. But others say “watch the clip, you’ll see it’s not.” Well, that’s not even a clip of the new Win7 episode.
I don’t like the idea of McFarlane selling out, but ultimately, I’ll judge the episode by whether it’s funny or not.
Geez, who is surprised about TV selling out? TV is sellout city. Always has been, so wake the fuck up. If you want to get your panties in a twist, why not discuss the fact that all of your senators and congresspeople are sellouts. That actually matters.
(Clown/banker analogy = +2)
Awesome article as usual, Paul. I’m a Family Guy fan, though after watching the preview I’m afraid that the episode is going to be the start of the end for Family Guy.
You’re right on man! Great article and great writing: “It’s like watching a clown getting a handjob from a banker…” So Felliniesque!
That’s what I call a money shot.
Lol this was a good read, keep em coming.
Dude, two words, “who cares?” so the guy is a sell off, he’s not the first and won’t be the last, just don’t watch the episode and move on.
If you think that this is just about Seth MacFarlane being a sellout then I think you need to reread the article.
Paul, you might want to slow down a bit. I’m not sure this is actually a ‘preview’ of the show.
I think it’s just a Microsoft ad, using footage of the show with new audio touting Windows 7.
If the words ‘Windows 7′ find their way into the actual episode, I’ll be surprised. And if I’m right about that, then there’s little to be outraged — or even slightly miffed — about here.
I quote from Microsoft…
“You’ll see us deeply integrated into the content… We’ll be evoking the cast of ‘Family Guy’ in some interesting ways that integrate the product messages.”
You’re right, I inadvertently used misleading phrasing to suggest that this clip will definitely appear in the final show (it still may do). I’ll amend the wording but as the quote about shows, my point 100% stands.
That quote seems to indicate something entirely different from what you’ve written about above.
One equates to allowing Levis bluejeans to use ‘Revolution 9′ in its advertisement — mildly irritating, maybe, but that’s business.
The other — the one you’ve indicated — equates to the Beatles releasing a new song called ‘Revolution Levis.’
Big difference.
“You’ll see us deeply integrated into the content”. It can’t be clearer than that.
If that means integrated into the content as in the clip — mixing Family Guy content with Windows 7 salutes — then it seems akin to the now-venerable Bart Simpson chomping on his Butterfinger chocolate bar.
If it means the Windows message will be mixed into the content of the show itself — ostensibly an artistic endeavor — then yeah, that’s horrifying. We’re in complete agreement, in that case.
Although I do believe you’re not allocating your horror everywhere it deserves to go; I blame MacFarlane, if he has compromised the show, but I also blame technology. Everyone loves the convenience of DVR and Tivo, YouTube and BitTorrent, but no one seems willing to acknowledge the toll those technologies will necessarily take on the content itself.
Someone has to pay the writers.
I just wish we could find a way to do it discretely.
“You’ll see us deeply integrated into the content” — is it just me, or does that sound really, really nasty? To use a clown-and-banker analogy: that hand isn’t just giving a job, it’s stuck somewhere else. Deeply.
Urgh. Another mental image I really could do without.
Wow, stop your crying. Things will be okay. I promise.
Unless Davey Jones is in the episode… he is the kiss of death.
What!? Davey Jones is AWESOME! [/sarcasm]
Seriously though, he was in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, which is still running strong (I have a two-year-old, so please don’t shred me to pieces fellow commenters!). Actually, I can’t think of any other show he’s been in besides the Monkees TV show from way back when.
I don’t know what the big deal is. I love Family Guy and I don’t care at all. I empathize with Seth more than other fans. Why the fuck can’t he sell the shit out of one episode for major cash? Fine with me. I’d hope fans would be cool enough to let me do if I was him.
It’s not like MS bought the damn show and it’s going to be The Windows(TM) Family Guy now or something. It’s ONE fucking show.
Unplug your limp penis from your oversized anus.
Your comment was pretty funny until that third paragraph. It’s absolutely clear to me now that you’ve been sponsored by the drug companies to do implicit product placements for male enhancement and digestive regulators by suggesting to random people reading this article that they may have certain body disorders.
Cog – I already said that in a post above. Not sure Paul has realised that it’s not a clip from the show. Paul ?
Wow, chill a little man. Lots of shows of done commercial free episodes sponsored by such and such company. Btw, a short trailer does not make an entire show. Watch the whole show first, yeesh.
Besides, I see about 20 different ads on this page alone. What? You’re telling me i can’t trust you judgment on anything just because they advertise with you? Yea, ok.
Danny S –
Agreed.
Paul –
Dude. I think this whole post may be a major boo-boo. You very likely owe Seth MacFarlane an apology.
See my reply to your comment above.
Thanks.
And likewise.
Mr. Arrington, please keep Paul Carr on Techcrunch as long as there is a Techcrunch, this is the post I look forward to each week!
Thanks mom…
so you’re basically just out of college… and you’re a writer fpr a blog… and people listen to you!
i wonder what the demographics of both the audience/writers of techcrunch is…
i’m willing to bet both writer/audience skews to ~22-28..
peace..
I’m not sure one person can skew to an age, but if I did it would be 30, sadly. Not entirely clear what your point is – which I suspect makes two of us.
paul…
my point, (unlike the one on top of your head!)
is that there appears to be a serious generational gap in terms of articles written on TC. and the freinds of mine who occasioanlly read the site.
I’m 47, with friends who are in their mid 40s.. we have the same observation about the articles. (and before you assume that we don’t know tech, i’m pretty sure that between us, we’ve built/managed/delivered a great deal more tech than the vast majority of your readers…) the articles that appear on TC appear to be written by younger people, with a focus on a younger audience. (ie, this article).
most of the people i know don’t really give a damn if seth/microsft/starbucks/etc.. are in bed together..
the world still keeps spinning…
peace..
I think is point, which he explains in a follow up to this piece, is that we should be UPSET that the world spins that way.
Here’s his response:
http://www.paul...nded-blindfold/
(I see your point on the demo stuff though)
@tim3
So who is forcing you to read the article? The headline makes it pretty clear what it’s about. If you’ve got no interest in it then don’t read it.
Whenever you read the tech section of a newspaper, online or otherwise, and find a story that you’re not interested in or isn’t specifically aimed at you, do you start frothing at the mouth and writing in to complain? Are you really so conceited to think that every article on a tech blog should be aimed at people with identical interests to yours?
I don’t see what age has to do with it. It’s an interesting opinion piece about a subject that a lot of people are obviously interested in. If you’re not, fine, but don’t start condescending the author. Who cares if you’re 47? Mark Zuckerberg sits in the 20something demographic you’re keen to dismiss. Is he irrelevant too?
seth rulz
MS rulz
this is a match made in heaven. I suspect they will give winblowz some shit.
I’m not Mac fan either but I don’t see how this is going to be funny.
I hope they don’t keep the ‘joke’ from the preview in the final episode either.
Blimey – does nobody read anything anymore!? (Paul just seen your comment – nice one for making the edit to make it clearer in the article)
J Davis – just for you again…
“…that clip is the promo by MS, it’s not a preview from the actual ep. It’s a dubover from http://www.yout...h?v=TMf6V5ct29I
This one is gold:
Entourage: Unpopular spin off from The Office, only available on Macs.
Really, so there is no possible way to say anything funny about Microsoft, without going on a rant about how crappy Windows is? Hmmm, it sounds like someone has a very limited sense of humor, and can only laugh at pandering that reaffirms their worldview.
Seriously, I am not a highly paid comedic writer, and I can think of several humorous approaches to the content. But then I don’t expect comedy to stroke my ego and reaffirm my preconceptions.
Oh, and by the way, what does whether the writer uses a Mac have to do with anything? Is there some machead rule somewhere in the EULA that you are not allowed to write anything on a Mac that isn’t negative of Microsoft?
I think they should have Brian working on a Windows 7 PC, then Stewie comes in eating an apple. Takes one bite (close up on the apple that looks like a familiar Logo) Scrunches up his face and throws it in the garbage can LMAO!!
Think I’ll watch the episode before I pass judgement.
This is nothing new and far from the first show to do this type of thing. The only reason it’s being mentioned is because it incites the Religious war between Mac and PC Fanboys.
Pathetic.
But I’m sure Microsoft and Seth are happy for the free publicity from all the bloggers
I will be watching it thank to finding out about it here.
Thanks.
People seem waaay too hung up on this PC vs Mac thing. I mentioned that MacFarlane uses a Mac because the only possible excuse would be if he was a huge Windows fan. Like when Hunter S Thompson advertised Converse which he wore every day of his life. I couldn’t give less of a fuck if the product was Windows 7 or Sham Wow.
Very, VERY few shows have given over their entire programming slot *and* characters to a full-length commercial.
It’s a funny argument.
“The bastard! Giving over his show to MicroSoft! When fine companies like Mac and Coca-Cola and Nike are just waiting to sponsor him! What a slut.”
You fail at reading comprehension.
Why does he need an excuse?
Besides, maybe he is switching to PC (as MANY people are) and going to 7.
I think the PC vs Mac war is BS. I fix both and they are both POS. One is in no way better then the other at all. I have to laugh at the flame wars, but you have to know as a writer that each sentence carries weight, and adding that sentence will change the conversation from one direction to another.
Anyways, the entire conversation is mute as no one has seen it yet, it might be the funniest episode ever. But even if it is, the haters will be hating and the fan boys will be… fanning?
Sad really.
I can’t help myself.
You mean moot, not mute.
Check out the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Boost Mobile episode. That was awesome.
Where you at?
Oddly, you link to the original press TechCrunch post about this whole thing, which clearly states that it’s a mix of live action skits, animated shorts, etc – blah blah. It appears to be another version of the stage show MacFarlane and Borstein did in NY, and certainly not an episode of Family Guy. Which pretty much makes the whole post a bit pointless (by the way, Fox isn’t ‘giving over’ anything – they’re selling time – you make it sound like they’re committing some sort of horrible crime against innocent television watchers)
But even if it WERE an ep of FG, how cares? MacFarlane is pretty much a lazy hack anyway. I couldn’t care less how he earns a buck.
The most interesting thing in the whole post is the part where you explain that a clown getting a hand job stops being funny when it’s a banker doing the work – so, it’s funny before that? Doesn’t seem that amusing to me, unless he’s got a big red clown nose on his pud.
ah, the novel “waa, waa, micro$oft BAD!” arguement
This a terrible idea but he already did something like this before for Burger King – to not mention that makes this lame post as uninformed as it was brutally unfunny.
The Burger King promos used characters created for the campaign. It wasn’t turning an existing show into a half hour commercial. I have no problem with people writing and producing commercials, which is why they weren’t mentioned in the lame post.
Why do people get all bent out of shape when an artist (or comedian, or athlete, or whatever) tries to make some money from their product? Isn’t that like a writer (or an engineer, or whatever) taking more money at a new job?
It seems awfully judgmental to call him a sellout – I bet Seth worked his ass off to get where he is now. Maybe he deserves to make some money (or more money, in his case) from his product. I don’t think you or anyone has a right to call him a sellout for it.
I don’t know who the fuck Paul Carr is, but there is not one word of this thing that is accurate, informed or correct. Do your research douchebag, and whether you do or not, if any of this ends your world, then your world is pathetic.
Wow this guy is bitching about one episode?
how lame is that?
By the way WINDOWS 7>everything out there.
And No i dont only use windows. I use MAC, LINUX as well.
Get over it. this early rant is pointless because as of right now WE DONT KNOW WHAT THE FREAKING JOKES WILL BE ABOUT.
I REALLY WANT to see an apology the day after the show airs. I bet it will be your typical funny family guy episode.
In the meantime lose your eyes, use your tears as lubrication, play with yourself and keep saying to yourself IT WILL BE ALRIGHT!
That line is pure, precious gold.
Oh, and one more thing… are those jokes at the end of your little book report? Are you really taking pot-shots at the guy who created Family Guy and backing them up with your lame-ass computer- geek puns? I think we’ve just witnessed another clown getting a hand-job… from himself. Loser!
Who cares? Family Guy hasn’t been funny for years
Family Guy has never been funny. “Like that one time…”
1. Windows 7 is a solid product
2. Family Guy is crazy funny
3. Great marketing combining the two
I don’t get what anyone did wrong here? It’s Family Guy… not 60 Minutes. No one is giving their integrity away. I bet Arrington would force you to give McFarlane a handjob to get the CrunchPad some Family Guy plugs.
And to steal a line from the author here: “Seriously, Paul Carr, stick a fork in yourself, you’re done.”
Microsoft’s ad agency made their name turning around burger king’s brand. Seems like ms have ordered a similar deal.
When this mac’s heart Monopoly Will ends ?
You can be a valuable person, who work for media, art or related and work, or more : apreciate Windows. Do you never ask you this before ? Why ? Is it so “different” or incorrect ?
I start thinking all this looks like hunt against MS.
I think you should read a little history about the development of Windows if you’re ‘puzzled’ as to why Mac users hate MS.
Moreover, why is this TV show annoying? Because an admirable successful man is taking cash to promote ideas he himself does not believe or subscribe to. HYPOCRISY. That people on this post are saying, “Sure! Give me the money! I’ll get on TV and say anything you want me to.” is fucking SAD.
Do you have no integrity? Shouldn’t great men be held to that standard?
Otherwise you’re just as bad as Ballmer and Gates. Who will, by the end of their lives, likely have bought their way into Heaven and the Nobel Laureate.
Usually I find most TC post entertaining and informative but this one… was pretty bad. I’m really trying to be nice with my wording but man I would rather sit through a 2 hour Family Guy/Microsoft movie than read another post like this.
Seriously TC, it’s time to either hire some better writers or give them something better to write about.
Seth M. made one episode for a ridiculous amount of money. So?
Guess what… Grant Hill drinks sprite. Jordan wears hanes while eating his ballpark hot dogs. Britney Spears is probably drinking a pepsi right now and Justin Long is a mac. So what?
Seriously man… never again.
It’s a completely relevant article detailing another misadventure in Microsoft’s insanely terrible advertising campaigns – among other things.
By the way. All those celebrities DO GET TRASHED for taking Corporate Sponsorship up the anal passage. What’s your point? Now Seth McFarland, who is widely loved and respected for a hilariously poignant show can join them. That makes it news. Get it?
Furthermore, Michael Jordan carrying a Ball Park hot dog on the basketball court would be the ultimate corporate whore. That’s what Seth is now doing. Damaging his art for cash.
Absolutely, TV is changing rapidly do the explosion of the DVR/Tivo/Hulu. So many people have the ability to skip commercials now, it’s obviously harder to make money.
As much as I like watching stuff for free, I understand that they need to make money to exist.
WAIT! Maybe this is all part of Seth’s genius plan! Hear me out. He let’s an entire episode of Family Guy (a show produced solely on Macs like almost every other professional media outfit) be saturated with campy Windows 7 jokes; plays it all out like Windows and Microsoft are the coolest thing in tech; then, in countless subsequent episodes, references the Windows episode in self-deprecating joke after joke about the depravity of Family Guy and Seth himself.
It’s a highly elaborate scheme to diss Microsuck. It has to be…..or should. Yeah, it’s probably not.
Seriously, Paul, you are a whining pussy. Why are tech journalists so damned gay? Let’s wait and see what McFarlane creates. He has a better track record than you do, and he’s never let me down so far.
Product placement is just another fourth wall for Family Guy to bash to dust. It’s very much the logical place to take the show and Microsoft not MacFarlane is the idiot in this situation: judging by the clip, the show will be only marginally less cringeworthy than MS’s own horrifying launch party videos. That’s not great for the public image of Windows 7 (never fear, its raw superiority over the competition will still save it), but for Family Guy it’s a win-win of money in the bank plus annoying the viewers.
It’s difficult for people who don’t work in or anywhere near broadcast television or production of any sort to understand what this means.
I’m disappointed they agreed to go through with this and I am crossing my fingers that it goes horribly for them so this does not set a precedent. This is not the way to monetize television, there are much better revenue models being kicked around right now.
+1
+2
Never thought I’d write a comment on TechCrunch, and certainly never thought I’d write “Paul, you are utterly, totally, 100% right on this”, but there you are. Strange fucking shit happens every day, man.
crazy
Sad to see Family Guy coming to this. I always thought it was a show that spoke its mind and wouldn’t be driven by anyone elses agenda. Sad to see TV so desperate that it will allow a full programme to be essentially and advert. There should be a channel for this sort of rubbish (shopping channels are the only other total advertising programming I can think of), then they can do what they like and the rest of us can not tune in.