PCs Wear Many Hats, and Suits, and Some Wear Glasses, or Don't -- "Not Alone"

"I'm a PC and I sell fish!"

Say what you will about the Microsoft/Seinfeld ad campaign (or "Phase I" of a grander design), it's hard not to like these fresh-out "I'm a PC" ads.

The spots -- quirky, friendly and feel-good -- debuted last night during The Office. See all three below.

o "I'm a PC, and I've Been Made into a Stereotype" -- featuring the John Hodgman lookalike, as well as Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra, Pharrell Williams, Bill Gates and other PC lovers representin'.

o "I'm a PC and I Wear a Suit" -- and not all are created equal.

o "I'm a PC and I am Not Alone" -- a little language play here.

Nice tagline, too: "Windows - life without walls."

The ads were positioned as a response to Apple's ultra-popular "Mac vs. PC" ads, which typecast PCs as stodgy, inefficient and even feebly malicious. The campaign was generally well-received -- but of late it's begun to rub people the wrong way, which could work in Microsoft's favor.

"The [Apple] ads aren't quite as funny anymore," Michael Arrington laments in the link above. And while he felt the new Microsoft spots "aren't particularly engaging," he admits they "show lots of fascinating people saying that they use PCs" -- and that don't fit into the hole Apple carved out for them.

The effort is charming, lively and even proud. This isn't just a defensive strategy; it's a battle-cry for PC users marginalized by Apple's elitist position, which too casually snarls, "If you're not with us, you're against us -- and ugly, too."