Why did Steve Ballmer, who was promoting Windows 1.0 with great enthusiasm, say 'except Nebraska'?
Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, is known for his management skills and his role as the driving force behind Bill Gates, a techie. He also has a humorous side, appearing in a commercial-style movie to entertain employees and promote Windows 1.0. In this parody movie, Ballmer emphasizes that 'outside of Nebraska,' but this is said to be due to a uniquely American reason.
Replaying Ballmer's whacky Windows 1.0 ad and explaining 'except in Nebraska' | Network World
https://www.networkworld.com/article/945570/replaying-ballmer-s-whacky-windows-1-0-ad-and-explaining-except-in-nebraska.html
Why did Steve Ballmer say 'except in Nebraska' at the end of the Windows 1.0 ad? - Quora
https://www.quora.com/Microsoft-Company-History/Why-did-Steve-Ballmer-say-except-in-Nebraska-at-the-end-of-the-Windows-1-0-ad
You can watch Ballmer's full throttle Windows 1.0 sales video below.
Windows 1.0 with Steve Ballmer (1986) (HQ, 60FPS) - YouTube
As soon as he appeared, Ballmer screamed, 'How much do you think this advanced operating environment costs?!'
'What would happen if you combined
The company also boasts that users can paste images of Ferraris into the word processing software Microsoft Write.
He repeatedly asks, 'How much do you think this costs?' but then stops him, saying, 'Don't answer that yet,' and with almost no pause, he lists the various features the phone has, including Paint.
'The whole set cost just $500 (about 74,000 yen)...?'
'Or $1,000?'
'No, it's only $99! I can't believe it, but it's true! Order now!'
And after the contact information for ordering is posted, the movie ends with Ballmer saying with a flirtatious look, 'Nebraska excluded.'
According to Ken Gregg, who used to work at Microsoft, the video is not an actual TV commercial, but a parody movie made as a morale booster for an internal Microsoft event.
A similar video compilation of Microsoft's footage can be seen below. Ballmer's scene begins about 4 minutes and 23 seconds into the video.
The problem with Ballmer's phrase 'outside Nebraska' is that in the US, laws and regulations vary from state to state and local to state, so the content of the ad may not apply to certain states. If a slogan that does not apply to some states is used in a nationally aired commercial, it would be problematic, but if the slogan is stated as 'outside XX state,' the ad can be advertised without facing legal action.
For similar reasons, advertisements and promotions at the time often included phrases such as 'Not available in Wisconsin,' 'Void where prohibited,' and 'Not available in Ohio, New York, or West Yellowstone, Montana,' and it is said that Ballmer's 'except Nebraska' was a joke based on this.
There is also a story behind this contact posted for ordering Windows 1.0.
During the Cold War, the American telephone business was monopolized by the Bell System , the predecessor of AT&T, and there was a chronic shortage of telephone lines.
However, Nebraska was an exception, as the military had secured a large number of telephone lines in preparation for nuclear war, and many companies set up call centers in the state, where there was plenty of telephone lines available.
However, the Bell System had a rule that 800 numbers could not be used for both in-state and out-of-state calls at the same time, so companies that wanted to take orders from across the country had no choice but to have two phone numbers or to exclude Nebraska, which is why Ballmer added 'outside Nebraska' at the end.
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in Video, Posted by log1l_ks