Earlier, Jerry Seinfeld teamed with Bill Gates in a commercial to give the PC a cool, new edge. Obviously, Pharrell Williams is a much more appropriate spokesperson to explain that Microsoft is not all that stodgy and to help the company refresh its brand.

A very pensive Pharrell talks about N.E.R.D and how it connects to new technology. "Einstein said that energy couldn't be created or destroyed," the musician says in the commercial, explaining that "no one ever really dies," which is what N.E.R.D stands for.

Los Angeles Times writer Maria Russo points out that Microsoft attempts to create "tech evangelism with a slightly spiritual undertone" by using Pharrell and also Deepak Chopra as its new spokespeople. She argues that where Apple goes for sleek and stylish, Microsoft goes for soulful and suave (and maybe a little cliche?).

I use both a PC and a Mac. Both can be frustrating and annoying at times, but they do the job.