Microsoft IE 10 browser ad mocks critics, Microsoft itself

Nov. 30, 2012: A new ad released by Microsoft portrays the company's critics as basement-dwelling trolls. (Microsoft Corp.)

Nov. 13, 2012: A screenshot of Microsoft's website advertises Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7, a new release of the browser enhanced to accomodate touch-screen computers and devices. (Microsoft Corp.)

Last year we saw Samsung sell itself by attacking its competitors’ fans, and that seems to have worked pretty well. Now we’ve got a tech company attacking its critics — and giving itself a sort-of-gentle ribbing at the same time.

Take it away, Microsoft:

Does anyone actually get whipped up about browsers anymore? Hard to believe.

But smart of Redmond to embody its critics as a basement-dwelling troll, because those guys have even fewer defenders than line-sitting hipsters. And because they’ve ensured that basement-dwelling trolls will spread the ad widely on their behalf, free of charge.

Well played!