Cabletron Stops Running Cisco Attack Ads

Cabletron Systems Inc. said it ended a campaign of attack ads on Cisco Systems Inc. of San Jose, its dominant rival in the computer networking business, because they weren’t attracting new customers. The Rochester, N.H.-based company also confirmed that it plans to announce on Monday a new product designed to help link office-work groups to local area networks. A spokesman said the new product will allow networks to link as many as 120 Ethernet ports to the networks through a single piece of equipment. The print ad campaign being pulled compared Cabletron’s and Cisco’s equipment, with a picture showing Cisco’s network machinery inside a bottle with data trickling out the neck. Cabletron said is has a new series of ads featuring less aggressive messages.