Few people in this world would disagree that Internet Explorer earned its reputation for being a web browser to avoid at all costs. The dark days of IE6 firmly established a layer of hatred towards Microsoft’s browser that for many people remains even today, and there are those who practically spit at the mention of its name.
The scale of the challenge for Microsoft to win over the millions of users who have nothing but hatred in their hearts for its browser is, quite simply, immense. So it’s refreshing to see the company tackle its big perception problem head-on, with a new campaign to promote Internet Explorer 9 that doesn’t shy away from the reality of its situation.
Entitled ‘The Browser You Loved To Hate’, the campaign is centred around a new website that encourages people to give IE another chance. The site showcases user feedback on IE9, with tweets and comments from across the web, and critical acclaim from the likes of Wired, The New York Times and Forbes.
In a post on the Windows Team Blog, Roger Capriotti (Director, Internet Explorer Product Marketing) said that IE9 “has been a turning point. We’ve been both humbled by its uptake on Windows 7 and by the response we’re hearing from our customers. And while there have been a number of pretty funny things said about IE’s past, it’s great to see those same enthusiasts bringing IE9 back into their browsing mix.”
Capriotti says that an increasing number of the Chrome and Firefox faithful have been introducing IE9 into the way that they browse and use the web. The ability to pin sites to the taskbar in Windows 7 – bringing app-like functionality and ease-of-use – has apparently been a key part of IE9’s new-found popularity.
Capriotti added that the site also offered an opportunity for Microsoft to ‘poke a little fun’ at itself, and central to that effort is this video: