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Aaron Adams never wanted to be a TV star. A Windows network administrator from Dayton, Ohio, he simply wanted to tell Apple how much he enjoyed the iBook he bought last year. But before he knew it, he was starring in his own television ad, and his face was posted all over Times Square.

Adams is one of Apple's "switchers"--former Windows users who have made the move to a Mac--featured in an advertising campaign that has been running on television, online, and in print since June. The campaign is designed to convince more Windows users that they, too, might be happier with a Mac. Apple is launching its second round of switcher ads this weekend, and plans to continue running the ads throughout the fall.

Apple claims the campaign has already been successful in increasing traffic to both its Web site and its retail stores, and some industry analysts think it could actually succeed in winning over Windows users. But Apple faces a real challenge, as its faltering market share in the US last year fell to just under 4 percent. And some analysts warn that the campaign could do more harm than good if it angers Microsoft, one of the top suppliers of software for the Mac. Still, Apple is pressing ahead with its switch pitch.

Telling His Story

Adams had always been a Windows user--in fact, before the iBook, his home computer was a P3 desktop he had built himself. "I grew increasingly frustrated with Windows and all the problems with the Pentium machine, so I dabbled in Linux for a while, but found the learning curve was just too steep," he says.

That's when he began thinking about a Mac. He bought the iBook, and recently added a 17-inch iMac to his collection. And he says he's never been happier. Although he's a self-described "techie," what he loves most about his Apples is the ease of use. "On my Mac, I can start FTP sharing with three mouse clicks. If I want to uninstall an application, I drag it to the trash. It's just a lot of small things, but those small details add up."

So in March, he decided to send an e-mail to Apple, telling the company how happy he was with its products. Three months, and several phone calls and interviews later, he found his face staring back at him from the pages of Newsweek magazine.

Disenfranchised Set

Frustrated Windows users like Adams are one of the key groups Apple is targeting with its $75 million campaign.

"There are a lot of people out there who like PCs, and that's fine," says Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. "But there are a lot of people who are unhappy with their PC, and they would be happier with a Mac. Those are the people we're trying to reach."

Former Mac users who moved over to Windows and disenfranchised Windows users--those frustrated with the performance and cost of PCs--are among the groups Apple is targeting with its message. A recent study by the Yankee Group suggests that discontent with Windows is at an all-time high, and that users are now more likely to consider other operating systems, such as Linux and the Mac OS.

It's this momentum that Apple is hoping to exploit with its campaign.

"We really just want to introduce more people to what we think is the best computer in the world," Schiller says.

The Other 95 Percent

Of course, Apple is interested in more than just introducing people to its products: Its goal is also to convince at least a portion of what it calls the "other 95 percent" to make the switch.

"We want to get people to take a look, and the more people that take a look, the more people will buy. And sure, in the process our market share will go up, but that's not our only goal," Schiller says.

By referring to the rest of the computer market as the "other 95 percent," Apple implies that its own market share is at 5 percent, a figure that may not be entirely accurate. According to Gartner Dataquest, Apple's worldwide market share was 2.5 percent last year, down from the previous year, and 3.9 percent in the United States market.

Regardless, Apple says it is hoping only to capture an additional 1 to 2 percent of the market, to reach a 5 or 6 percent share--something the company thinks this ad campaign can accomplish. "If we increase our market share by 1 percent or 2 percent, Microsoft won't really miss that. But to us, that increase is really big," Schiller says.

A Fair Fight?

Should Apple be so sure that Microsoft won't miss those users? According to one analyst, the switch campaign might be enough to annoy the software giant. The entire campaign could damage Apple's relationship with Microsoft, says Alan Promisel, a research analyst with IDC. Microsoft is one of the biggest suppliers of software for Apple, and if the campaign is too successful, Microsoft may drag its feet on developing versions of its Office suite and other titles for the Mac. "It's kind of biting the hand that feeds you," Promisel says. "But it's too early to tell."

For its part, Apple says it isn't worried about any negative reaction from Microsoft.

"We have a very good relationship with Microsoft's Mac business unit," Schiller says. "They see new business opportunities on the Mac." He points to the recently released version of MSN for the Mac--the first Microsoft has developed specifically for Apple.

Besides, he adds, Microsoft knows the value of a good switch campaign. "They're trying to convince AOL users to switch to MSN, so they know how the business works," he says.

Aiming Low

Apple is wise to set its sights on simply gaining exposure, says Stephen Baker, an analyst with market research firm NPD Intellect. "They have to get people at least thinking about Apple as an option when they're buying a PC. Because their products aren't in a lot of the retail stores, they're not reaching a lot of the customer base," he says. "The biggest opportunity here is to drive people into an Apple store."

And that's exactly what Apple says this campaign has accomplished in the two months since its launch. The company won't release exact figures, but Schiller says the number of visitors to Apple's retail stores has risen each week since the ads launched. A number of those visitors, as well as visitors to Apple's retail partners, such as CompUSA, reference the ads when they visit, he says.

Once the visitors enter the retail stores, Apple is confident it can win them over. "We have really cool hardware and industry-standard software. And on top of that, we have our own applications, like iMovie and iTunes, that can really convince people that now is the time to switch," Schiller says.

Time for a Change?

Schiller isn't the only one convinced that now might just be the time to switch.

"As the technology that underlies the PC changes, and what you do with your PC changes--as it has drastically in the last few years--Macs have become more mainstream than they've been in the past," Baker says.

Schiller agrees. "In today's world, so much of what we do with our computer is online: Web surfing, e-mail, chatting. Online capabilities are such an important part of our computing life, and this is where Mac OS X excels," he says, referring to Apple's latest Mac operating system.

And as the role of the personal computer continues to evolve, Macs will only become more mainstream, Schiller says. People originally bought computers for personal productivity, and then for their online capabilities, he says. Now, Apple believes the personal computer will become a digital hub for the home, connecting all digital devices, such as cameras and MP3 players. Not only can a Mac connect those devices as well as a PC, it supports cool Apple hardware devices such as the iPod digital music player.

Apple launched its switch campaign shortly before the launch of an iPod for Windows, which may sound like a contradiction: Why launch a Windows device if you're hoping to convince people to move to a Mac? Apple simply sees it as another revenue opportunity--and as an opportunity to introduce Windows users to Apple products.

Rumors and Innuendos

One sure sign that the Apple switch campaign could be succeeding is the backlash it has generated. Since its launch, rumors have swirled that the real people highlighted in the ads are instead actors, or that some of them never actually made the switch to Apple.

Adams has heard the rumors, too--even about himself. He read in an online forum that he was actually an actor that somebody knew from San Francisco, not a LAN administrator from Ohio.

"I've never even been to San Francisco," he says. "I can vouch for all the other people I met at the shoot. There were five or six other people there, and I can tell you, their stories were genuine."

Apple also denies the rumors. "These are real people, and these are their real stories," Schiller says. And the company hopes that eventually more Windows users will tell the story of their switch.

Tom Spring of PC World contributed to this report.

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