Microsoft switch goes sour

Microsoft pulled a switch. To be more specific, they posted a cute ad on their sales pages supposedly written by a freelance copywriter who switched after eight years of mac-dom over to XP. It beat the same drum as the apple switch campaign but with a lot less personality. An entire person's personality it seems.

The slashdot community thought they recognized the woman, and found her to be a Getty images stock photo. Was this a testimonial without a testimonee? That ain't legal!

The woman in the ad
is this stock image gal - we wonder why they didn't use Gates-owned Corbis instead.

Wired picked up on it - so did the Seattle Post - both found that Valerie G. Mallinson, a representative of a public relations company hired by Microsoft , is the mysterious convert.

At the time of this writing, you can still find the page in
google's cache .

The copy of the ad told about how easy it was to switch:

"Yes, it's true. I like the Microsoft® Windows® XP ...

To my surprise, the process of switching was as easy as the marketing hype had promised. I was up and running in less than one day, Girl Scout's honor. First, let me tell you more about why I converted.

I am a freelance writer; I demand the best in mobile computing. There's a much greater choice of portable computers and features, for less money, on the Windows platform. My laptop came with 512 MB of RAM, a 15" screen, a DVD player, and Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled, for $450 less than a comparable iBook. My recommendation is to go straight to Windows XP Professional; the extra features for mobile users are worth it. See Which Edition is Right for You? for more information.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 does more for me than Netscape Navigator ever did, and I am a surfing addict. Searches are faster; the History feature makes it easier to find that site from last week; and I can name and organize my Favorites any way I want."

Microsoft are now switching marketing tactics.