Regular readers of this blog know I’ve regularly harped on the ongoing battle between Apple and Microsoft. The Mac/PC ads are fast approaching mythic status, ranking up there with the Coke/Pepsi rivalry of the 80’s.

There was (and is) a lot of buzz surrounding the long-awaited Microsoft response to these ads. As I’ve noted here, that response was somewhat lackluster. The beauty of the Mac ads is that they have an “I’m-rubber-you’re-glue” quality to them that forces any response at all from Microsoft to backfire.

Ever since Microsoft launched their multi-million dollar response to the Mac campaign, I’ve been waiting for Mac to respond. This week, they did, and I have to give them a standing ovation. View the new ads below…

The beauty of this response is that it’s grounded in absolute truth. I’ve made the point here a couple of times that the strength of the Mac ads is that THEY ARE TRUE. Microsoft tried to candy-coat it in their response. Maintaining their previous approach, Mac stuck to the truth and, IMHO, scored a big one with their latest ad.

The moral of the story: honesty is always the best policy. Whether you’ve fallen short of expectations or whether you’re attacking a competitor, be honest. Consumers will reward you for it.