Microsoft Corporation: Start Me Up campaign

Microsoft Corporation's introduction of Windows 95, a new version of its popular graphical user-interface software, was one of the most significant marketing events in the history of the software industry.

Microsoft Corporation: Start Me Up campaign

Robert Schnakenberg

Overview

Microsoft Corporation's introduction of Windows 95, a new version of its popular graphical user-interface software, was one of the most significant marketing events in the history of the software industry. An unprecedented advertising blitz heralded the arrival of the much anticipated upgrade of the company's five-year-old operating system. The musical group Rolling Stones lifted its ban on selling song rights for advertising purposes and allowed Microsoft to use its hit song "Start Me Up" in commercials for Windows 95.

The launch of Windows 95 was a calculated gamble for the Redmond,...

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