Microsoft Recruits 'Double Rainbow Guy' For New Ad (VIDEO)

Microsoft has gone meme.

The Redmond giant has recruited Paul "Hungry Bear" Vasquez (aka "the double rainbow guy") of viral video fame to create a new ad for Windows Live.

Vasquez's YouTube video of his reaction to spotting a double rainbow at Yosemite National Park went viral earlier this summer, racking up over 12 million views on YouTube and inspiring no shortage of remixes, songs, and other creations.

Following his online success, Microsoft tapped Vasquez to create an ad for Windows Live (see it below).

Microsoft explained the collaboration in a blog post: "We hooked up with Bear to learn more about him & show him how to capture a full on double rainbow with Windows Live Photo Gallery using our panorama stitch feature. It's so intense!"

See Microsoft's ad, and the original double rainbow video, below.

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Comments

[Ryan Thompson]

02:34 AM on 09/08/2010

Probably too late.

[noob1]

02:58 PM on 09/05/2010

Good for him, he seems like a really nice guy.

[Yohuntsy]

09:57 PM on 09/04/2010

Most of the people posting here would see a double rainbow and think "Oh good, its stopped raining..rain is so annoying, I can't go outside without getting wet". Stop whining. I have never seen a double rainbow in my life. He saw one and reacted appropriately...with wonder and awe. That is how great scientists are created.

[llibsetag]

09:32 PM on 09/04/2010

Vast majority of pro photographers use Adobe + Apple for their photographic businesses & THEY KNOW that Microsoft is totally useless when it comes to pro photography, pro video & pro graphics.

PROOF? Even Microsoft using their own "photo software" cannot get the double rainbow image correct & THEY BASED IT ON Bear's video which IS CORRECT!

Wintards are SO lame.

[DefineReality]

06:52 PM on 09/07/2010

Wow, really? Please read your comment again. "The Vast majority of pro photographers use ADOBE + Apple."

In all honesty, Apple products are equally as useless for pro photography as Windows products. And actually now that this feature is built into Windows, that maks Apple products even more useless because at least with Windows I can stitch images together.

Pro's buy the Adobe Suite for a reason, no operating system provides professional quality editing software.

Mactards are SUCH dumbasses.

[llibsetag]

09:25 PM on 09/04/2010

First Microsoft laugh at Apple's "rainbow logo" & say it's not a serious business computer & it is just a gay toy for the surfer dudes of So-Cal.

Flash forward to today & NOW they are using the DOUBLE RAINBOW in their advertisements DECADES after Apple has not been using the rainbow Apple logo (now just one color ) & TODAY it is way cool dude?

LAMAGE!

Microsoft is SO pathetic it is hilarious! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Ron Simpson]

01:02 PM on 09/04/2010

Wondering why they Photoshopped the second rainbow, since the outer rainbow is a reflection of the inner one.

[CptKendrick]

08:23 AM on 09/04/2010

This guy is so last hour.

[Hypnotron]

07:45 AM on 09/04/2010

Listening to Bear in the original video...

imagine thousands of years ago before anyone spoke the word "god"... and you get an idea of how the simple act of looking up can spark such notions.

[Hypnotron]

08:01 AM on 09/04/2010

"What does it mean?" Bear asks?

Well it seems it means some $$$ so who's to say this spectrum of light through water didn't mean anything afterall?

[sheila]

06:56 PM on 09/03/2010

hmmm. prefer not to have our cultural moments usurped for corporate gain, but it's nice that the bear got a check for something that made us all grin and feel ok for a minute...

[incredulousnyc]

02:11 PM on 09/04/2010

Well put!

[dreadylocks]

06:58 PM on 09/04/2010

I totally agree. But it's less of a cultural moment, and more of a meme, IMO.

[Cryostatic]

03:46 PM on 09/03/2010

For those interested (and too lazy to Google) a real double rainbow looks like this.

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/2674/double-rainbow.jpg

[DRaymond]

11:18 AM on 09/03/2010

Well OF COURSE the rainbow is a photoshop job. If you had a full-on commercial production crew (Do you have any notion of what that costs per hour?) would you have them sitting around waiting for the exact right weaher conditions for a real rainbow? And yes, the production company effects department goofed the color order.

[PlayTOE]

09:04 AM on 09/03/2010

The double rainbow in the advert is FAKE because the order of the colors is incorrect.
This would be obvious to anyone who understands how a real double rainbow is formed.

Have a look at the fake and the real rainbow, and see if you can spot the error.

[SafariDan]

07:52 AM on 09/03/2010

lame commercial but good for Bear... and yes, they did screw up the double rainbow- FAIL!!

[Freedom Rush]

12:12 PM on 09/03/2010

Yes, good on ya brother Bear.

[sloppybear16]

09:44 PM on 09/02/2010

The screwed up the double rainbow in the commercial. The top rainbows colors should reflect the opposite of the bottom. Instead the two look the same

[sloppybear16]

09:48 PM on 09/02/2010

They** screwed up.

[rlkinny]

11:26 PM on 09/02/2010

Wow, You're right!

[arcanepsyche]

08:04 PM on 09/02/2010

I support them using the dude (I like him a lot) but I think the ad is pretty lame.