While it's a bit too early to tell, this new campaign from Microsoft touting PCs vs Macs conjures up memories of Burger King's famous flame broiling vs. frying attack on McDonald's. See the commercial here:

Three key points of portability, battery life and power resonate loud and clear by a guy who is as normal as they come – nice work here.

In terms of full disclosure, a few years ago, I was a happy Dell customer, but then descended into
"DELL HELL" and I still have recurring nightmares of that dark time
period in my life. Today, I'm a happy and rabid Apple and Mac fan and I have no intentions of changing my allegiance. However, I have to admit Microsoft is are nailing Mac's pricing (with a statement of "under $1,500" and "I don't want to pay for the brand") and design head-on with a simple mantra and value price point. This is Ad is spot on especially during these tough economic times.

This campaign will be interesting to watch how it evolves and how Apple and its fans in the media return fire as I'm sure they will…sooner than later.

This ad campaign, brings forth a great lesson too.

That is, what are the three key tangible things you can deliver in your sleep, that's a compelling USP and that you could/should hammer away at your industry leader?

Count to three and start hammering away because daylight is burning!