After spending decades criticizing each other's products and services, Microsoft and Apple are calling a truce this holiday season. In the spirit of Christmas, Microsoft has published a festive ad in which the company sends several employees from its recently-opened flagship New York City store a few blocks down Fifth Avenue to Apple's nearby flagship store to "deliver a special message to some old friends."
While sending a 'special message' does sound a little bit like a mafia-style threat, it instead refers to Microsoft staff singing Christmas carols and holding candles outside of Apple's store.
Although the 37 Microsoft employees in the ad are seen working in the New York location, they were actually chosen from stores around the country based on singing auditions. The Redmond-based company's staff are joined in the serenading by the Harlem Youth Choir in a rendition of Jill Jackson Miller's "Let there be peace on Earth."
"To celebrate the holidays, Microsoft employees, who were selected from across the country, gathered together, meeting each other for the first time, at the new Microsoft 5th Ave Store to spread some holiday wishes," the ad's video description on YouTube reads. "They share a message of peace and harmony with their neighbor down the street."
The final part of the ad sees staff from both companies embracing on the street to applause and cheers from onlookers. "People are tired of strife and misery, and having a positive example from corporations feels good," said Kathleen Hall, Microsoft's general manager of global advertising, adding that the ad was filmed the weekend of the Paris terror attacks.
While Microsoft is trying to promote itself as a gentler, kinder multinational corporation in the ad, the reality is that both it and Apple will doubtlessly be back at each other's throats come January.