diff --git a/src/msw/control.cpp b/src/msw/control.cpp
index 88508423ab..20ef3e8c40 100644
--- a/src/msw/control.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/control.cpp
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ bool wxControl::MSWCreateControl(const wxChar *classname,
     // Notice that 0xffff is not a valid Unicode character so the problem
     // doesn't arise in Unicode build.
     if ( !label.empty() && label[0] == -1 )
-        ::SetWindowText(GetHwnd(), label);
+        ::SetWindowText(GetHwnd(), label.c_str());
 #endif // !wxUSE_UNICODE
 
     // install wxWidgets window proc for this window