A cooler image of Microsoft PCs?

The Microsoft empire struck back this week with a new advertising campaign. The company is out to prove that it's not as stodgy as Apple commercials make it out to be.

The campaign's television advertisements have been generating a lot of interest, and most students think Microsoft's image is making a change for the better.

One commercial spot begins with a businessman - who closely resembles the PC character in Apple's Mac vs. PC television ad campaign - reciting the classic Mac commercial line, "I'm a PC."

He goes on to say, "And I've been made into a stereotype."

The commercial is a rapidly shifting montage of celebrities and humanitarian and political figures who identify themselves as PC users.

Actress Eva Longoria, writer Deepak Chopra and music producer and artist Pharrell Williams are among the celebrities featured in the commercial.

Several Microsoft employees also appear, along with their company e-mail addresses - even Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Marketing professor Jonah Berger said Microsoft's campaign may help it correct the company's greatest weakness.

"Apple has done a really good job of creating a brand identity, whereas the PC has not," Berger said. "What they've really tried to do here is humanize the brand. It shows you they're not a simple stereotype."

Wharton senior Amarylis Marrero, who is concentrating in Marketing, said she thinks the new ad campaign is a smart move for Microsoft.

"I think they're really clever," she said. "It was about time for them to counter the Mac-PC commercials."

The fact that celebrities were mixed in with less famous PC users was appealing as well, because it emphasized the range of people who can use Windows, she said.

"I thought it was really witty," Wharton freshman Andrew Dunn said. "It was cool how they used a lot of people in a lot of settings."

College sophomore John Paul Farala said the new Windows commercials are even better than Apple's approach in some ways.

"All I ever think of when I think of Mac are these white trendy, hipster college students," Farala said. "But here, they showed a lot of diverse people who use PCs."

Berger said it's not likely that Apple will respond to the new Windows commercials since they aren't direct attacks on Apple's image.

"This ad is just saying PCs aren't as one-dimensional as you think they are, so it's not something that Apple really needs to respond to," he said.

Apple did not return calls for comment.

A Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an e-mail that the campaign is designed to "instill a sense of pride among Windows and PC users."

"This is about speaking with our own voice and not letting others define us," the e-mail said.

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