From Apple Insider:
http://tinyurl.com/5okpyn
It seems poor, little used and abused Microskank and VP of Vista
marketing Brad Brooks cannot take the heat from the "Get A Mac" ad
campaign. I wonder if Stevie Ballmer will throw some chairs again.
Cuss and discuss, Ballmer freaks.
Microsoft plans anti-Apple marketing blitz for Vista
By Aidan Malley
Published: 05:50 PM EST
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Having lost its patience with Apple's "Get a Mac" advertising campaign
attacking Windows Vista's public perception, Microsoft will spend
hundreds of millions of dollars trying to prop up the standing of its
operating system.
The company's VP of Vista marketing, Brad Brooks, told attendees at a
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference on Tuesday that the next few
months will see a major advertising push that promises to "free the
people" through what Vista has to offer and that Microsoft wouldn't take
Apple's repeated attacks on Vista reliability without a fight.
"You thought the sleeping giant was still sleeping, well we woke it up
and it's time to take our message forward," Brooks warns Apple. "There's
a conversation going on in the marketplace today and it's just plain
awful. We've got to get back on the front foot."
He acknowledges, however, that Vista's rough launch has cost the company
significant ground and that the ads will as much be about damage control
as touting the brand. In a rare glimpse into Microsoft's own view of the
launch, Brooks recognizes that Vista "broke a lot of things" and
triggered "a lot of pain" in partners trying to sup****t the newer
Windows edition.
According to the executive, difficulties with new operating system
launches are common and a similar pattern emerged with Windows XP in
2001, which eventually smoothed out as patches and gradual acceptance
made it the dominant operating system. Recent updates to Vista have
ironed out similar wrinkles, he argues.
By contrast, Apple is said to be "noisy" in controlling the message on
Vista. The Mac maker has regularly pointed out flaws and stressed that
many users are looking to downgrade to XP after sour experiences with
Vista. To Brooks, though, Apple is pitching an all-or-nothing message
for its products that Microsoft can counter with perceived choice.
"They tell us it's the iWay or the highway. We think that's a sad
message," he says. "Software out there is made to be compatible with
your whole life."
Whether or not Microsoft will succeed in its mission, however, is less
than clear. Businesses have commented that they consider it impractical
to upgrade to Vista due to compatibility problems and may wait until
Windows 7 to update past Windows XP, a move that would delay any
purchases until at least 2010.
Also, in the prelude to Microsoft's ad campaign, Apple is still believed
to be stealing away those Microsoft hopes to win over: a Bank of
Montreal estimate has as many as 2.5 million Macs ****pped in the current
quarter based partly on users opting for Apple's platform rather than
face the concerns raised by Vista.
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