The Vista fightback begins

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 5 Sep 2008 at 07:25

Microsoft has kicked off a $300 million marketing campaign, aimed at improving the image of Windows Vista and striking back at Apple's "Mac vs PC" ads.

The first commercial of Microsoft's new marketing push, being created by advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, aired on US television last night, featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and company co-founder Bill Gates at a shoe store.

You can watch a video of the advert here.

Despite selling more than 180 million licenses since its launch in 2007, Windows Vista continues to suffer from the perception that the operating system is clunky and hard to use compared with Mac OS X.

That image has been stoked by Apple's "Mac vs PC" ads featuring a geeky and unfashionable PC guy unable to keep up with a better-looking, hip Mac counterpart.

"What the brand stands for, particularly in the case of Windows Vista, has been defined by the competitors. The time is now for us to get in and start telling our story," claims Brad Brooks, a corporate vice president at Microsoft.

Apple has steadily gained market share against PCs in recent quarters. Gartner claims Apple accounted for 8.5% of US computer shipments in the last quarter, a rise of 38% from a year earlier. That outpaced the overall US computer market growth of 4.2%.

Microsoft says the commercial is part of a broader, long-term initiative to change consumers' perception of Windows, which will include setting up a retail corner at several hundred Best Buy and Circuit City stores staffed by "Windows Gurus" to explain the benefits of Vista.

The company also says it has been working with PC makers to optimise systems to speed up computer boot times and improve the overall experience of using a Windows machine.

All the major PC brands are expected to introduce new or revamped models, which Microsoft calls a "new category of PCs", with improved designs in the next few months.