What’s the best way for a brand to engage with its competition? Many brands focus their marketing efforts exclusively on their own strengths rather than acknowledging competitors — and when they do talk publicly about competing brands, it’s typically to criticize them. Consider, for example, the “Mac vs. PC” TV ads that pitted a stodgy, suit-wearing PC user against a younger, hoodie-clad Mac user; the decades-long “Cola wars” between Pepsi and Coke; and today’s ongoing battles among light beers.