I don’t get it. I don’t get the campaign, and I don’t get the thinking behind it.

Why would Microsoft, which holds on to a crazy dominant share of the OS market, deliberately play into Apple’s hands – not only further legitimizing them, but in the process making Apple seem even cooler than they already are? Yes, Apple’s “I’m a Mac” campaign (one ad is shown below) brilliantly made themselves look like the choice of the young, hip, and artistic while making PCs look like the choice of Dungeon & Dragons players everywhere. But that doesn’t mean Microsoft needs to provide a direct response.

The current round of the campaign focuses on individuals showing the world how easy PCs are to use. Not just any individuals – children. Children. For example, in the one posted below, adorable little Kylie demonstrates how she can take a picture of her fish Dorothy, edit the shot and send it to her mom and dad. She ends by running up to the camera and announcing “I’m a PC, and I’m four and a half.”

In marketing, going head-to-head with a competitor is nothing new. The infamous cola wars of the 70′s and 80′s laid the groundwork for advertising as a bloody battleground. But the OS war currently being waged is proving that David can, in fact, take down Goliath, at least in a battle for mind share if not market share.

Maybe Microsoft’s campaign is working (I haven’t seen any numbers that prove success or failure), but to me it looks a little like Microsoft is just being a pouty child who’s gotten its feelings hurt. Instead, they would have been far better off – and looked a hell of a lot cooler – rolling out their own creative as if Mac didn’t exist, than feeling the need to go on the defense. The whole point behind the Mac campaign was to make Apple look edgy, and make Microsoft look nerdy. Is there anything more uncool that someone who can’t take a joke or throws a tantrum when they get picked on?

If Microsoft is determined to stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches with one of the best marketers in the biz, then they have to be prepared to out-smart, out-strategize and out-create them, or they’ll be unwitting partners in driving home the “I’m a Mac” message.