Gotta be somebody's favorite

Understandably, Microsoft has rolled out an ad campaign to protect the brand from the unfavorable stereotype that Mac is so happily imposing on PC, and by extrapolation to everything Microsoft. Jerry Seinfield featured in an ad, which seemed like a futile attempt to attract attention. The idea to have PC users introduce themselves is novel and is by far the most effective ad in my opinion, that Microsoft has done to reconnect with its customers and prospects at the image level.

Today I came across an ad that hinted on one of the product positioning strategies that are in play.

You've got to be cool to appeal to kids. If there was any perception that PC is cool, Apple's ad campaign has definitely put that thought to rest. In the world of kids and parents, let us say that kids prefer Mac, because they think it is cool. PC's only hope would then be to appeal to parents. This ad revolves around various Windows Vista features that would help parents in controlling their child's internet usage, in terms of sites visited, hours spent browsing and much more.

You know what? Parents may find that "cool"!