The precarious tightrope walk otherwise known as "turning a Microsoft developer event into something fun" has claimed a victim.
This time, it's a Scandanavian Microsoft contractor who just couldn't find a good rhyme for the word genius in putting together a little dance number at the software giant's Norwegian Developer's Conference, held in Oslo this past week.
Microsoft posted an apology to its Windows Azure YouTube channel after a video of the routine was posted to YouTube, saying it "involved inappropriate and offensive elements and vulgar language."
"We apologize to our customers and our partners and are actively looking into the matter," the company added.
Left unmentioned is the fact that it was just embarassingly lame.
The routine is the kind of thing you see all too often at these technology parties: loud music with a disembodied voice rapping goofy lyrics while a half-dozen women in shorts dance in front of a roomful of bemused Norweigian software geeks, who have each paid about $1,500 to attend the three-day event. The incident was first reported by Geekwire.
This is the second time in the past few months that a marketing misfire over in Europe has embarrassed a major US technology company. In May, Dell apologized for hiring a misogynistic moderator at a company partner event.
The offending couplet: "I'm a computer gen-i-us / The words micro and soft don't apply to my penis"
On the teleprompter, genius is misspelled "genious" and the words "(or vagina)" are added below "penis" in the spirit of gender equality.
"This is absurd," wrote one YouTube commetor. "I have completely lost faith in you Microsoft. Not cool."
Watch it in all its glory here:
