Microsoft’s 250m Vista ad push
Microsoft is backing the launch of its new Windows Vista operating system across 70 countries with a massive £250m ad campaign. It marks the company’s biggest launch for over a decade.
The push includes television ads in the US starring basketball star Lebron James and ads explaining what Vista is and does. No details of the UK ad campaign are available as yet.
Microsoft is using images of a child discovering snowfall for the first time to create the perception that Vista is a life-changing event.
The launch campaign has surprised many observers, given that all new Windows-based PCs will feature the Vista operating system anyway.
One of the key elements of Vista is that it will allow gamers and developers to create new effects and is totally compatible with the Xbox 360 gaming system. Vista is said by many to be the system that will allow Microsoft to take "ownership of the living room" as it competes with Sony for the title.
It is expected that around 100 million computers worldwide will use Windows Vista within a year, although some observers are already complaining that Vista is not compatible with some existing hardware. Windows runs more than 95% of the world’s computers.
