COREL HOPES TO HINDER MICROSOFT HYPE
By Adnews Staff
Corel Corp. of Ottawa launched a pre-emptive strike on rival Microsoft Corp. with an international print campaign this week. Microsoft is launching its Office 97 software today and Corel wants to ensure it doesn't get overwhelmed by the Microsoft hype. The Corel ads begin by taking a direct shot at Microsoft, warning, "Don't be held back by Office 97." The ads then go on to tout the features available in Corel's Office Professional and WordPerfect products. Corel emphasizes that both Corel products allow users to work with the Java programming language. That's something Office 97 won't offer, Corel advertising director Sally Moore told Adnews yesterday. The company is also planning to launch an international TV campaign within six weeks. Corel handles all of its advertising in-house. Separately, Corel has solidified its relationship with California-based Netscape Communications Corp. Corel will incorporate Netscape's Communicator into the latest versions of Office Professional and WordPerfect due out in April. Communicator includes e-mail, Web browsing and organizational file sharing capabilities.