Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld are back with their second ad in Microsoft’s new campaign. The first one was kind of lackluster in my opinion, not just because it had nothing to do with Windows and Microsoft products, but because it really wasn’t even all that funny.

The second spot in the series, which involves Jerry and Bill moving in with “real” people in order to connect with them is at least funnier, but it’s still “all about nothing” and doesn’t do anything to convince me that Vista or anything else that Microsoft makes is any good.

If Microsoft really want’s to compete with Apple’s Mac guy and PC guy ads, they’re going to have to realize that their ads can’t just be funny–they have to also give people reasons to use their products, whether that’s through pointing out features that the Mac doesn’t have or talking about Windows Media Center. I realize that Seinfeld built his career on a show that was “all about nothing”, but that’s not going to work for an advertising campaign.

Check out the combined two-part ad below…

Microsoft has invested about $300 million dollars in a new advertising campaign featuring comic legend Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates, but their first foray, which aired September 4th, is questionable at best.

The ad features Jerry Seinfeld going to a store known as Shoe Circus, which is presumably not a real place of business. He happens to meet Bill Gates there, and helps him try on shoes.

That’s about it. The only mention of a product is at the end, where Jerry suggests that Bill make computers out of cake so we can “eat while we work”. I’m still waiting for the punchline, or at least one funnier than that.