I've always wondered about Microsoft's marketing efforts. For a huge company with massive influence and a giant marketing budget, they seem to consistently fail to make compelling advertising.An article by Ina Fried today over at CNet gets to the point.

• Microsoft, of course, made the opposite claim with it's "Apple Tax" return, which argued that owning a pair of Macs costs thousands more than two PCs over their lifetime. And although I was the first to call Microsoft out for its faulty math, I will also say this. The fact that Microsoft was able to get people fired up shows that Microsoft has at least found the right area to focus its energies.

I agree, though I'd take it a step further in my critique of MS's marketing efforts to date and label them as terrible. The cute kids spots were just ridiculous. The "I'm a PC" spots are embarrassing. At least the "Laptop Hunters", although only correct in a very narrow definition, are compelling, and get you interested to see what's happening there.