Christopher Tozzi writes an interesting piece over the pitfalls of negative advertising. According to Glyn Moody at Computerworld, people who are dissatisfied with Windows Vista are opting to stay with Windows XP. However, he takes this a step too far in asserting that this will lead people to Linux. Partly because Linux has more than its share of problems, but the real reason, as Tozzi points out, is that most of the arguments people use aren't in favor for using Linux. Like with negative political advertising, while it may drive potential voters away from the targeted candidate, it won't necessarily drive them to you. Now, in politics driving down the other guy's turnout can provide you with a win. But in commerce, turnout is immaterial.
This is my issue with the last set of "I'm a Mac" commercials. They existed solely to criticize the opponent. The "Bake Sale" ad, which I linked to in the previous post presented no reason for me to use a Mac. Apple did not try to appeal to me. Rather, it left me with a negative opinion of the company.
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