In a world before fragmented media, 24/7 content cycles and social media, this was probably a good idea: Find a very popular TV show and pay the stars to promote your product in a way that makes it look like part of the TV show.   However, we are not in the good ol’ days of advertising.  At a minimum, this kind of advertising is manipulative to less informed/aware viewers.   While Microsoft continues to bottom-feed the low end of the market, this kind of advertising further alienates the potential buyer who researches, listens, uses social media, etc.  The bottom-line: completely normal behavior for the perpetual annual winner of the Most Tone-Deaf Brand award.