LeBron Dumps Windows Vista

Microsoft revealed today that it will not renew its marketing contract with NBA star LeBron James, effectively ending a two-year partnership.

This news came as a complete shock to me, not because I was surprised by the deal's demise, but because I NEVER KNEW LEBRON JAMES HAD A DEAL WITH MICROSOFT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Boy, talk about a stinker of a deal. Did you ever see LeBron James in a Microsoft commercial? I sure didn't. Apparently, James appeared in ads promoting the launch of Windows Vista in 2007. So not only has Vista been an utter failure as an operating system, but the marketing campaign tied to it was pretty horrible as well.

I wrote today about how the now-dead deal between Buick and Tiger Woods never made sense. But a deal with Microsoft and LeBron James is even more baffling. Does anyone really believe LeBron James is really into computers? Maybe if they had him promote the Zune music player or some movie-making software, I could understand it.

Even more baffling is why Microsoft didn't do more to activate the partnership once they signed James. The decision to partner with him in the first place was strange, but it's even sillier to spend money to bring him on board and then fail to have him do anything aside from a few commercials.