"If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?" Perhaps not, but Microsoft hopes that a new $300 million ad campaign about the flailing Windows Vista will somehow turn it into a success with the help of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The campaign will be one of the largest in Microsoft's history, and is expected to begin on September 4.
Vista's reputation has certainly taken a beating since its launch, and Microsoft said last month that it was finally going to do something about it. Microsoft's VP of Windows Vista consumer marketing Brad Brooks mentioned Apple by name as being a "noisy competitor" after having taken a number of pot-shots at Vista in its own Get a Mac campaign, and vowed to strike back with its own ad campaign.
In the meantime, Apple will continue to pummel Vista with its own somewhat-annoying, but apparently effective "Get a Mac" campaign. Will Seinfeld be able to out-funny John Hodgman and Justin Long? We await the results of this new front on the platform war with bated breath.