Microsoft - No Brand Connection with the Audience

Great article by Jackson Mahr on the brandchannel site, on why Microsoft is having difficulty connecting with most of its public. Great Brand...no emotion. It has become a utility service like water. MS has been clever with the launch of its webspaces (their version of blogs). But if someone else had a similar service (with the MSN capability), I don't think there would be much brand loyalty amongst the younger users of their software.

"It's a funny thing. Microsoft's brand power is written about in numerous business and marketing magazines, it ranks No 2 in the Best Global Brands table (Interbrand/BusinessWeek), and yet I don't recall ever meeting someone who actually feels a warmth for Microsoft the way they do for Krispy Kremes or BMWs.
I've never seen a single article espouse the virtues of Microsoft in a warm fuzzy way, never met anybody who wants to get a Microsoft tattoo, and certainly never met anybody who can't get enough of the products it makes. When it comes to brand strength by size, Microsoft wins, but when it comes to brand strength via hearts, it stands far behind its diminutive rivals. "