Testy Over Testimonial Campaign

A new ad campaign by Microsoft Corp. that takes aim at Intuit Corp. has stirred controversy. The campaign touts Microsoft’s newest version of its Money personal finance software package, Money 98. Print ads ask: “Why do 50% of Quicken users say they’ll switch to Money 98 Financial Suite?” They quote six users of Intuit’s Quicken software who seemed eager to adopt Money. But Intuit executives say the ad is misleading. Intuit managers reached three of the people quoted and found that two still have positive opinions about Quicken, it was just that they also liked some of the features in Money. Microsoft said it sponsored the survey and used an independent market research firm to run one that would be considered fair. The survey gave about 200 Quicken users a chance to try out the new version of Money. Many liked the features they saw, Microsoft said.