Internet Explorer Wants You Back

Most people don’t use Internet Explorer anymore. For whatever rhyme or reason, Microsoft Internet Explorer – which once nearly 90% market share – has lost nearly half its share, mostly to Firefox and Chrome. Depending on whose stats you believe, some have IE below 15% usage share. Others still have it as the most popular browser in North America, but still less than 50%. Others have used its plummeting success to draw analogies to the murder rate.

IE 9 LogoCall it security. Call it lack of standards. Call it late for dinner at HTML5’s place. People have, in great numbers abandoned the once ubiquitous browser for Windows users.

But Microsoft wants to end that.

With a new ad campaign geared toward those who left the browser in the virtual bit bucket, Microsoft wants to remind people that IE is still a viable browser. Showing images of games and other playthings from Generation Y, Microsoft gently reminds users that while they’ve grown up, so has Internet Explorer. Please come back and try it again.

Internet Explorer 9 has grown up. It’s more standards-compliant than other versions of IE before it. (Yes, I realize I’m damning it with feign praise). It hasn’t fared too well with traditional browser benchmark tests. Is pulling at your innermost child’s heartstrings enough to make you go back to Internet Explorer full-time?

What do you think? Leave a reply below.