Windows 7 'Family Guy' Ad Airs Despite Microsoft Axe? (VIDEO)

First, Microsoft announced that it would be teaming up with Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy to do a spot promoting Windows 7.

Then, Microsoft decided that Family Guy -- with its raunchy, un-PC riffs on deaf people, incest, and all -- wasn't a terrific fit for the Windows 7 brand.

But it seems that wasn't the end of the Windows 7/Family Guy saga.

CrunchGear notes that a recent episode of MacFarlane's show seemed like it might have been an ad spot for Windows 7 after all. CrunchGear reports,

There was a Family Guy segment that certainly looked like an advertisement and was then followed by a regular Windows 7 commercial.

See the Windows 7 cameo in the excerpt from the show below. The same episode also took a jab at Mac with Apple's "spinning beach ball." See that clip here.

What do you think: ad or coincidence?

WATCH:

Follow HuffPostTech On Facebook And Twitter!

Comments

[jsarets]

02:59 AM on 11/25/2009

I've done all this and more with my LinuxMCE multimedia home automation system.

Basically, I have a tower computer with multiple hard disks in my office, connected to the firewire outputs on my cable box. This is the central server on my home network.

I also have a laptop, a smartphone, and a media center.

The media center is a TV and audio system connected to an AppleTV with a hacked BIOS that netboots from the central server as a thin client.

The smartphone runs a Java client that communicates over IP with the central server. I have an IR remote that works with the AppleTV, but the smartphone works as a remote from anywhere.

The laptop runs the same client software as the AppleTV, but on top of its normal standalone OS.

Any media on the central server can be streamed to the media center or laptop. Whatever media I'm playing follows me between the media center, office computer, and laptop based on the location of the smartphone in my pocket.

The same system can be used to automate lighting, webcams, and security sensors, but I haven't done that yet.

I don't need Windows to make everything work together. Linux and free/open software works!

[BLSabob]

11:41 AM on 11/25/2009

blah blah blah Who cares?

[KataVideo]

10:36 PM on 11/24/2009

What do you mean "IS it an ad?" Of coooouuurrrrsssse!!!

[uranus65]

04:53 PM on 11/24/2009

I thought the beach ball thing was funny and I use a Mac. That episode though was weird and this is one of my favorite shows. What was with the whole Quagmire diatribe against Brian? Is this show going to get all weird and serious now that its successful?

[shthar]

11:31 PM on 11/23/2009

I like it.

This is the way they used to do ads on radio, and it was much better than stopping the show every 10 minutes.

Course it takes more writing and more talent on the shows end.

[StansDad]

10:43 PM on 11/23/2009

I believe Windows 7 was not his idea, but rather and idea extrapolated form Mac OS X :) as their engineers admit. Which is great! I just got windows 7 and it works really well with my macs and my home server.

[Eris23]

03:00 PM on 11/24/2009

You're running Windows on a Mac. 'Nuff said.

[amdezurik]

04:39 PM on 11/24/2009

you are fighting lots of denial there

[amdezurik]

04:39 PM on 11/24/2009

against stansdad, just re-read and it can be taken the other way :)

[tehixe]

10:34 PM on 11/23/2009

I think that they axed the original idea, which was an entire episode-length feature about Windows 7. They probably picked out the choice bits that aren't that offensive to Microsoft.

[deeppeace]

07:51 PM on 11/23/2009

I was certain it was an ad, esp. after what followed it. I thought it was hilarious. And loved the spinning ball, too.

[Robespierre]

07:23 PM on 11/23/2009

Our company just switched to Mac.

[tehixe]

10:37 PM on 11/23/2009

Congratulations, your company's computers are now controlled by Steve Jobs, who decides what can and cannot be done with them, including every single piece of hardware that goes into them. Bravo for signing away your rights as a consumer.

[shthar]

11:32 PM on 11/23/2009

As opposed to computers with windoze.

I swer, it's like a Star Trek episode, EVERY DAY!

[rbndc]

02:02 PM on 11/24/2009

His company's computers aren't controlled by Jobs or Apple, Jobs won't decide what can be done with them, and the company may not need to add or remove internal hardware devices like some geek at a LAN party. Most companies buy hardware spec'd to a particular configuration. And Macs are upgradeable, as well.

Considering that the company could also legally run Windows, OS X, Linux, BSD, or Solaris on their new Mac hardware, I don't see what rights they've signed away.

Other than that, though, spot on!

[mountainweb]

06:50 PM on 11/23/2009

Clearly an ad and not a coincidence

[PenguinLinux]

05:59 PM on 11/23/2009

Use Linux.

[JHancock]

09:45 PM on 11/23/2009

Linux, OSX and eComStation here. No viruses, no crashes. Just plain works and always has.

[deepfreezevideo]

10:23 PM on 11/23/2009

Use a thumb and stick it straight up your bunger.
Good God you people act like you have battered wife syndrome.
It's a computer, and if people like it, let em.

[Sirkll]

03:03 PM on 11/24/2009

"Bunger"? What's a "Bunger"?