Microsoft's Seinfeld-successor ad campaign, which features people from all walks of life that use Windows-based PCs, was created on Mac computers. After this fact was discovered in the image metadata, Microsoft tried to belatedly close the barn door by removing the metadata. Lame.Although at first this seems like a bit of an embarrassing revelation for Microsoft, it's not surprising at all. Macs have always been the favorite of creative types. For more than 20 years, I've worked for Microsoft-focused print and online publications; most of them did their art and layout work with Macs. In media and graphics arts, the Mac rules the roost. That is exactly why Microsoft's reaction is a bad idea.

The two ads I've seen so far in this new "I'm a PC" series, Not Alone and Life Without Walls, are much better than the Seinfeld series. The basic message: Windows PCs are used by all sorts of people for many types of important work. It's a message that's undeniably true.

I can certainly understand Microsoft being embarrassed if its ad campaign was trying to say, "Windows PCs are the only type of computer anyone should use," or "We dare you to find a job that can't be done with a Windows PC," or "Windows PCs, the best choice for creating ad campaigns." Those are not the messages of this ad campaign at all, and the revelation that it was produced on a Mac is not a contradiction of its real message.

Macs are strong in media thanks to both history and network effects. Graphical Macs were the logical choice back when PCs were suffering through DOS and Windows 3.1. Even after Windows caught up in the graphics department, the professional software was still stronger on the Mac platform. It's not a question of whether PCs can do the job today, because they can. There is just a bigger pool of Mac-savvy professionals to draw upon. That's especially important when a company depends on freelance help; if most of the freelancers know Macs and not Windows, you're better off using Macs.

Microsoft has network effects like this work to its own benefit when companies think about moving to Linux or Macs. An IT department full of people trained in Windows may have a devil of a time with it, but it's a devil they do know. It makes no sense for Microsoft to try and pretend that there are no vertical markets where Macs (or even Linux PCs) are more popular than Windows. Instead, it should stick to the theme of the "I'm a PC" series and point out the broad spectrum of places where people successfully use Windows.