REDMOND, Wash. -- Dec. 30, 2003 -- The MSN® network of Internet services today announced that the colorful star of the "It"s better with the Butterfly" campaign will make an encore appearance with the launching of the new version of MSN. The new MSN, due to be released Jan. 8, 2004, spurs the Butterfly character to speak for the first time, setting off a yearlong U.S. advertising and marketing campaign that includes print, television and online media. And what exactly will the newly lingual lepidopteran say when it breaks its silence? To find out, consumers will have to tune in when ads begin appearing as the new MSN takes flight, featuring rich information services, advanced communication tools and comprehensive security solutions. The campaign seeks to inform people, especially those with high-speed broadband connections, about the benefits of the new MSN and entice them to experience the value that these services can add to their online activities. Consumers can take a sneak peek at several sample spots at the MSN ad campaign preview site, https://new.msn.com/press/.
"The Butterfly resonates with consumers as fun, friendly and approachable, and it"s quickly become the personification of MSN," said Richard Bray, vice president of MSN North America at Microsoft Corp. "The ads portray the Butterfly as a resource that"s an integral part of the family, much as we see the next version of MSN becoming an integrated part of consumers" everyday lives."
Starting Dec. 31, people can preview many of the advanced features that will be part of the new MSN by clicking on a banner on the MSN home page announcing that the new MSN will be arriving Jan. 8. During the first few days of this promotion, visitors will see the MSN butterfly flitting around the home page and then landing on the link to the preview site. From there, visitors will enter a minisite featuring highlights of the new MSN home page as well as other new services.