Slack took out a full-page ad in The New York Times just so it could write an open letter to its new competitor Microsoft
Slack bought out a full page ad in Wednesday's New York Times to publish an open letter to Microsoft about the impending launch of its new app, which will compete directly with Slack.
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield posted a photo of the company's letter to Microsoft on his Twitter account.
The letter was also posted on Slack's blog and begins with a word of congratulations for Microsoft:
The letter goes on to say that "Slack is here to stay" and welcomes Microsoft "to the revolution."
According to recent reports, Microsoft was considering an $8 billion bid for Slack, but Microsoft founder Bill Gates and current CEO Satya Nadella opposed the deal in favor of developing an in-house solution, before an offer could be made.
Now, Microsoft is launching its work-chat app called Teams, a chat app that - much like Slack - offers "channels," which are different chat rooms that work teams can set up for themselves. A video introducing the new app is now up online.
The Slack ad appears to be a riff on an Apple ad from 1981 welcoming IBM to the personal computer market and reminding the company that they had been there first. That ad ran as a full page in The Wall Street Journal. And even that ad apparently channeled one from an early IBM competitor, Data General, after IBM entered the minicomputer industry.