14 DAY TRIAL // A special Family Guy show focused on Windows 7 announced by Microsoft in mid-October 2009 will no longer reach the viewers in the initially planned format. The Redmond company has revealed that it has yanked sponsorship of the Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show (Working Title), noting that it found that the episode’s content did not fit the Windows brand. As far as the software giant is concerned, the deal breaker was the content of the Seth MacFarlane comedy/variety special. Apparently, Microsoft decided that the humor typical of Family Guy, including references related to the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and hearing impaired people, could not be associated with the Windows brand.
"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," noted a Microsoft spokesperson via Variety. "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."
In accordance with the original announcement from Microsoft and FOX One, the Almost Live Comedy Show was designed to feature MacFarlane, and his “Family Guy” co-star, Alex Borstein, along with additional content, as an integral part of an entire night dedicated to the creator of Family Guy. The special was planned to be half an hour long with no commercial breaks as Windows 7-related content would be introduced within the show itself.
But the Redmond company and MacFarlane and Fox did not see eye to eye on the actual non-Windows content of the Family Guy special. Microsoft reportedly expressed concerns over how the show had turned up, and the differences in vision ultimately led to the cancelation of the Windows 7 sponsorship. FOX One will continue with the special still scheduled for November 8th, and will seek a new sponsor.