Microsoft launches new poster campaign

Microsoft Network, the online service offering a personalised gateway to the Internet, is launching a &£2m poster campaign aimed at ‘humanising’ the Web for new users. Two creative executions by advertising agency EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper show PCs in ridiculous situations. One features a scuba diver with a PC on his back, using the computer mouse as an aqua-lung and keyboards as flippers, and the other shows a man walking a PC on a dog-lead. The ads will appear on Tubes and buses in the South-east of England, 48-sheet posters nationally, as well as on 250,000 postcards, and in a supplement for London’s Evening Standard. The campaign will run through the summer, which is a quieter period for the Internet as many users head outdoors. Nicky Smith, product marketing manager at MSN, says: ‘The aim is to make new Net users aware of what MSN offers. People often get onto the Net, but aren’t really sure why they are there. MSN provides direction and easy use of the Internet, humanising the Web and making it user-friendly. The advertising reflects that.’