Microsoft regularly asks PC users for feedback about its products. But after the debacle with Vista, the operating system nobody liked, the company realized that the concept of consumers as an intrinsic part of the development process could be an effective selling point for the Vista replacement, Windows 7.
And so was born a campaign, getting under way on Thursday in six countries, carrying the theme "I'm a PC and Windows 7 was my idea." It is to run at least through the end of the year, to take advantage of the computer buying that usually takes place during the holiday shopping season.