Earlier this week, we noted "The Mojave Experiment," Microsoft's new, unorthodox ad campaign for its Vista operating system. We argued that while the campaign certainly breaks new ground in a refreshing way, in that it acknowledges the Vista-hating phenomenon head-on, it risks backfiring. Apparently, we were not alone.

"By glossing over real concerns of Vista users and reviewers, which led to the negative perception of the OS in the first place, Microsoft may be doing itself a disservice," writes a BetaNews author. "Instead of responding to legitimate problems, the Redmond company is essentially telling the world that complaints about Vista have no merit."

Popular tech blog Gizmodo notes that the people in the Mojave video are clearly not the tech-savviest (no offense!). "This is a video of people clueless about what Vista looks like in the first place," the blog says. "No Gizmodo readers would fall for such a ruse."

Even a PC World writer who called Mojave a "marketing home run" isn't convinced of the campaign's overall effectiveness, writing, "Good marketing is about appealing to people's emotions, which Mojave does through embarrassment. 'I was wrong' isn't the best way to sell a product, although it has some pull here because Vista perceptions are so negative."

In the end, how you feel about Mojave (the ad campaign) may depend on how you feel about Vista (the OS)--some hard "truth in advertising". If you're predisposed to like Vista, Mojave is pure, sweet vindication. But if you're predisposed to dislike Vista, Mojave is a distraction from the real issues, namely, all of Vista's problems. In the end, Mojave may end up being a brilliant sermon heard only by the choir.

One thing's for sure: in BetaNews's words, "Mojave is drawing a great deal of skepticism across the Web. Rather than the focus centering on message of the marketing campaign, attention is on the approach behind the campaign." That can't be exactly what Microsoft wants.