Sydney, September 19 : Microsoft has axed American comedian Jerry Seinfeld from its 300million-dollar ad campaign to spruce up Windows Vista''s image just two weeks since the first ad aired, and roped in a host of celebrities, including author Deepak Chopra.

Actress Eva Longoria and singer Pharrell Williams are also said to have been hired for the campaign.

The company has revealed that it was always the plan that only the first two ads would feature Seinfeld, who was paid 10million dollars to be part of the campaign.

"It was always the plan to have Jerry Seinfeld in the first phase of the campaign and not a part of every ad," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Chris Flores as writing on Microsoft''s official Vista blog.

However, speculation is rife that Microsoft decided to Seinfeld because his presence in its ads was encouraging people to view the company as a fading star from yesteryear, rather than giving it a fresh new image.

A source at Microsoft''s ad agency, Crispin Porter and Bogusky, is said to have told popular gadget blog Gizmodo that another ad featuring the Seinfeld and Gates duo had already been filmed, but the company had decided not to broadcast it.

While the first two ads did not refer to Windows at all, the latest ads, set to go to air in the US today, shift the focus towards Windows.

The new ads use the tag line "Windows. Life without walls", and feature Gates in a cameo role, as well as appearances by Longoria, Williams and Chopra.

They are said to be a direct attack on Apple''s "I''m a Mac, I''m a PC" ads that portray the Mac as cool and intuitive, and the PC as boring and clunky.

The ads will seek to counter Apple''s elitist Mac user vibe by including a slew of everyday PC users, such as scientists and teachers, espousing the virtues of their platform of choice. (ANI)