Microsoft is launching a new TV ad campaign that for the first time shows off several of its products at once. The ads began appearing on TV shows on Sunday and featured families playing Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console with its Kinect controller, along with Windows 7 running on a Samsung laptop. A Windows Phone 7-based smartphone is also seen in at least one of the ads and the Microsoft Office software suite is also used in the commercials. You can see two of the new ads below.
The Seattle Times web site reports that Microsoft created the new commercials because it wanted to show the public that Microsoft makes more than just its popular Xbox 360 console. Microsoft's Chief Marketing Strategist David Webster said, "If they know we're the same company that came up with those ideas, and now we have these PCs and phones -- they're more likely to think: 'Wow, I should check out these PCs and phones.'"
Microsoft has yet to reveal how much it is spending on this new TV ad push. However, it did say that the budget is "significant" and the commericals will be shown in 35 countries. The tag line for the ads is "It's a great time to be a family." The ads show how Microsoft products can be used by families for several tasks. For example, a dad playing a Kinect game on the Xbox 360 is being filmed by his daughter on a Windows Phone 7-based device. The video is sent to her brother who changes it on Microsoft Office and then posts the video online. He then shows off the video on a Windows 7-based notebook.
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