In an effort to change people’s view of the Windows Vista operating system, software giant Microsoft has invested $300 million in a series of ads starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates.

Vista has been slammed for allegedly being 20 percent slower, its functionality has been questioned and a number of other problems, especially when compared to the company’s successful older system, Windows XP.

The ads, which team up Gates and Seinfeld in ‘normal people’ situations and depict them doing the robot and cutting toenails, have had mixed reactions from viewers.

A large amount of ad blogs criticised the first ad (in which Seinfeld interacts with gates in a shoe shop) as failing to live up to Apple‘s ‘I am Mac’ campaign.

The second ad has gained a better reception, with viewers enjoying Gates and Seinfeld’s moving in with a suburban family to reconnect with the ‘real people’.

The ads are only running in the US at the moment, but it won’t be long before they appear in Australia if Microsoft is serious in its attempt to changes consumer’s minds over Vista.