Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been airing commercials that feature a young Asian-American girl named Kylie to promote their new operating system called Windows 7. In the commercials, Kylie points out all the “happy words” that reviewers have been giving about Windows 7.

To get a further boost in publicity, Microsoft is hiring Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein to put on a variety show. MacFarlane is the creator of the animated series Family Guy. Borstein is one of the voice actresses for Family Guy, best known for playing Lois Griffin. The variety show will be aired on November 8 without commercials.

The deal was made between Microsoft, The Family Guy cast, and ad agency Crispin, Porter & Bogusky. Media agency Universal McCann brokered the deal. Crispin and MacFarlane worked together on a deal in the past for creating Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. The series was uploaded to YouTube and was sponsored by Burger King initially. The series is now being sponsored by Priceline.com.

The variety program sponsored by Microsoft will feature Family Guy musical performances, celebrity guest appearances, and Microsoft product placements. “You’ll see us deeply integrated into the content … you’ll hear a lot about how Windows 7 can help you simplify your PC — it’s simple, fast and easy to use,” stated Microsoft general manager of consumer engagement and advertising Gayle Troberman. “Think about metaphors and examples we might use, talking about how simple things are. We’ll be evoking the cast of ‘Family Guy’ in some interesting ways that integrate the product messages.”

Update: Below is a video sneak peek from Win741 of how Windows 7 will be used by Family Guy:

Earlier today, I wrote about a new and upcoming Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) advertisement.  I think that this advertisement gets the point across a lot better than the Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates advertisements.  Crispin Porter confirms that Seinfeld and Gates will be returning in future ads, but they have put those on pause for now.  Check out the new ad below and let me know what you think in the comments:

What I like about this ad is that it showcases the global impact that PCs have. Rather than creating an ambiguous advertisement about nothing, Microsoft shows a montage of celebrities and regular Joes.  Satish Kanwar e-mailed Sean Siler, the star of commercial and received an auto-response, pasted below (it’s pretty funny, you won’t be disappointed):

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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is putting their ad campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld on pause for the time being.  The $300 million campaign will continue to march forward with a new theme.  The new theme is a rebuttal against the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ads, Mac vs. PC.  The new Microsoft ad will start with a commercial that features an engineer that resembles John Hodgman, the actor that plays “PC” on the Apple ads.  The new ad even starts by saying “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” 

Crispin Porter & Bogusky came up with the new campaign idea.  Microsoft is even bringing several celebrities on board as part of the campaign that includes Eva Longoria (Desparate Housewives), Deepak Chopra (author), and Pharrell Williams (musician).  Others featured in the commercials will include 60 Microsoft employees.

“[Apple executives have been] using a lot of their money to de-position our brand and tell people what we stand for,” stated David Webster, General Manager of brand marketing for Microsoft [NYT].  “They’ve made a caricature out of the PC.”  Through this campaign, Microsoft wants to take back the narrative. 

When Microsoft launched the Seinfeld ads, the reviews were 25% positive and 13% negative.  The ads became less negative as time went on.  “It did what it needed to do,” stated Rob Reilly, Partner and co-executive creative director of Crispin Porter. “People who got it, got it.”

The new ad campaign will be beginning tonight.  There is no word on whether Seinfeld will return to additional Microsoft ads or not.  Other clients of Crispin Porter includes Ad Council, Bell Sports, Burger King, Coke Zeo, Compass Bank, Domino’s Pizza, Geek Squad, Giro, International Andy Awards, KNOW HIV/AIDS, Sprite, Volkswagen, and Old Favorites.