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Acknowledging Vista's early shortcomings, Microsoft hopes to turn around nonbelievers with a new campaign.

Microsoft knows that Vista has image problem. Having attempted to remedy it at its source with Service Pack 1 but failing to silence naysayers, the company has moved on to Plan B, a PR campaign.

The latest ad to surface on Microsoft’s home page depicts an old sea-faring ship beside the words, “At one point, everyone thought the Earth was flat.” The bottom compels the reader to “Get the facts about Windows Vista.” Microsoft’s message is clear: Try it before you knock it.

As ZDNet speculates, this will probably be the gist of the company’s forthcoming $300 million ad campaign designed to convince the public that Vista isn’t as bad as it’s cracked up to be. The page the ad linked to offers an admission of Vista’s early woes, along with some facts that paint a rosier picture of the present situation. “71% of Windows Vista customers liked it better than their last operating system,” it claims, along with the fact that people who have familiarized themselves with Vista are two to three times more likely to have a favorable impression.

While Microsoft has made no formal announcement concerning the ad, which so far has only appeared on its own Web page, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it turning up in all the usual places soon.