All-out war: Microsoft's new Windows Phone ad pits Android versus iPhone

Ah, the Internet, where even a healthy debate over the respective merits of iPhones and Androids can quickly devolve into an all-caps shouting match. Not one to be picked last in kickball, a little up-and-coming company called Microsoft is out to capitalize on our pointless need to argue, as illustrated in a clever new TV ad for its Lumia 920 Windows Phone.

The commercial's premise? Android nerds versus iZealots, in an all-out, WrestleMania-style brawl. The wedding setting only emphasizes the fact that there's no love lost between these two filthy rich companies.

It's a pretty fun romp, replete with scathing digs and familiar complaints mindlessly parroted in tech blog comment sections. "Aren't you a little young to have an iPhone?" one Android owner shouts at a, well, older woman. "Search karate!" a cowering man yells into an unresponsive Siri. Battle lines are drawn, wedding cake gets thrown, and in the heart of all the chaos are a pair of calm Lumia 920 owners standing tall.

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The question remains: Could an inspired new commercial inspire a change of heart for catty iPhone and Android owners? Hard to say. But at least Microsoft is taking the initiative and injecting Windows into the conversation.

It's also nice to see Microsoft flexing some marketing muscle to solidify its spot at number three. Recent figures from consumer behavior firm Kantpar Worldpanel ComTech suggest Windows Phones now account for 5.6 percent of all smartphone sales in the United States, while BlackBerry's market share fell to 0.9 percent, from 2.6 percent. And with forgettable TV spots like this that fail to differentiate BlackBerry as a contender worthy of your paycheck, there's little question why the beleaguered devices are still grasping for straws. (Via TIME)