Microsoft's latest ads don't suck

Microsoft has rolled out phase two of its new advertising campaign. As expected, it's Jerry Seinfeld-free and Bill Gates-light. And it's surprisingly charming. While Apple's Mac vs. PC ad campaign tries to paint Mac as hip and cool and PCs as stodgy and difficult, Microsoft's new campaign shows that many different kinds of people use PCs in many different ways.

The ads don't mention Windows Vista. But the goal isn't necessarily to get you to rush out and buy a copy of Microsoft's latest operating system. Instead, this is a brand-building exercise. It's a way of getting people to feel good about the company.

Of course, the problem about tying your message to the term "PC" instead of Windows or Microsoft is that there's more than one operating system that you can run on a PC. Still, I'd rather watch these ads than the Seinfeld/Gates show anytime. You know, if I didn't just skip past the ads on my PVR.

What do you think? Are the new ads better than the old ones? Better than Apple's? Do they make you want to go out and buy a PC? Or hug Bill Gates?

You can check out some of the new ads after the jump, courtesy of TechCrunch.

Tags: ads, microsoft, pc