t�s official now. Windows 98 is slow and unreliable. Unbelievable? Then listen to this. Microsoft says so. In the latest advertising campaign (created by Contract Advertising) for its three-year-old operating system (OS), Windows XP, Microsoft says, "If you are missing out on life, switch to Windows XP. It�s 36 per cent faster than Windows 98 and at least 10 times more reliable. So you end up doing more in less time." Created specifically for the Indian market (the international theme being "Yes, you can!" after "Prepare to fly" was scrapped in the wake of 9/11), this theme is touted in the Windows XP television commercials - three of them are running on HBO, AXN, NDTV and STAR channels currently - and the four print ads that capture the same mood in the mainline and business dailies.

Comparative advertising is not a new monkey. "Brand Y toothpaste contains 50 per cent more whitening ingredients than Brand X." "Brand B lasts seven times longer than battery Brand A." Fast moving consumer goods companies have made a virtue of it in India and in other evolved consumer markets. Durables makers have done this too to demonstrate their price advantage or technological superiority where all other strategies have failed to cut ice. What is intriguing about this piece of Microsoft advertising is that in its effort to make a case for its latest operating system, the company has chosen to take on an earlier OS from its own stable. ... more