Microsoft pulls out of Family Guy special

Could Microsoft's marketing department be any more inept? First, the company pays the Family Guy people a load of money to sell out and write gratuitous Windows 7 references into the "Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," airing November 8, which is so bad harms the reputations of both Microsoft and Family Guy. Now, according to Hollywood trade rag Variety, Microsoft is pulling out of the special as the sole sponsor because they discovered that Family Guy deals with controversial material. Microsoft was shocked -- SHOCKED! -- to discover that the episode would contain "typical Family Guy style jokes," according to Variety, "including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest."

The in-show mention remains, but there will be no saturation advertising on commercial breaks. A Microsoft statement said:

"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' but after reviewing an early version of the variety show it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand... We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent."

They get the worst of all possible outcomes: 1) They paid a lot of money to 2) damage their reputation as the video disaster goes viral, then 3) get none of the benefit of actually advertising during the show.