YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- "There won't be a PC sold anywhere in the world that doesn't have Vista within six months," said Endpoint Technology Associates analyst Roger
Microsoft Pumps $500 Million Into Vista Marketing Campaign

Kay, a fact that might leave ad watchers wondering why Microsoft is
about to launch the product with one of the biggest marketing
blitzes of all time.
'Most aggressive'
This will be the company's "most aggressive launch ever," resulting
in an injection, across 20 countries, of an estimated $500 million
into agency and media-owner coffers -- which seems excessive for a
product that will walk out of the stores on more or less every PC
sold from here on in.
But that's not the point, according to Microsoft -- which goes so
far as to borrow from images such as a child discovering a
snowfall, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Woodstock to persuade
consumers that Vista is not just an operating system, but a
potentially life-changing event. "Awareness is not enough," said
John B. Williams, general manager-Windows global communications.
"The goal for this campaign [is to] get at the heart of
excitement."
Several strikes against it
Generating that, and maybe getting at the heart of the mammoth
marketing push, may be difficult, because although the product may
become ubiquitous, it starts out with several strikes against
it.
First, it's from Microsoft, which detractors often paint as the
monopolistic "evil empire." Then there's the fact that the product
has been delayed several times and received only lukewarm reviews
from analysts and beta testers. And, of course, there's Apple,
which has the only other operating system.
While still a small player in the computer industry, Apple has seen
its market share rise from 3% to more than 5% in the past two
years, thanks in part to its iPod halo effect. "They can't take any
chances or leave the field pen to Apple," Mr. Kay said. "And
[Microsoft] needs to spend a fair amount of effort convincing
corporate clients to buy Vista."
Difficult to explain
Last, Vista is a difficult product to explain. It's the platform on
which PCs run, but the user doesn't really see it. Marketing will
help explain what Vista is and does. Some TV ads, for instance,
feature 3-D flip screens with the Windows Vista border around the
edge of the screen for the duration, showcasing the new Vista
look.
"The last time people made a decision on an operating system was
five years ago -- and the world has changed dramatically since
then," Mr. Williams said. "We have to show the product because when
they see Windows Vista, they'll get it ... and have this kind of
reaction we're looking for."
And the reaction it's aiming for: "Wow."
"This one word kept coming out as people sat down and played with
the product," said Mike Sievert, corporate VP-Windows client
marketing. "The campaign concept works very well across cultures
and geographies." (Vista will have a "big advertising presence" in
20 of its 50 markets.)
6.6 billion impressions
Indeed, the planned scope of the campaign -- 6.6 billion
impressions in its first few months -- is wondrous by today's
narrowly targeted, niche-media standards. "The Wow starts now," two
years in the making with McCann Worldgroup, encompasses an online
consumer-participation promotion themed "Show us your wow" (the
winner gets a trip around the world), sponsored webisodes at
Clearification.com featuring "Daily Show" comedian Demitri Martin
and an alternate-reality game called "Vanishing Point" that moves
between online and offline.
A human billboard will feature 16 dancers forming the Vista and
Microsoft Office icons, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates himself
will host an invitation-only party in Times Square. A slew of
retail promotions are set for Jan. 30 in more than 30 markets
around the country and will include Xbox giveaways and school
PC-lab makeover sweepstakes, as well as rebates and special deals.
Microsoft experts will be on-site to answer questions. Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer will greet customers at Best Buy in New York.
But it's the TV ads that will garner much of the attention-and
inevitably it won't be all good. The spots picture "Wow"-murmuring
moments such as a '60s-looking family staring at a black-and-white
TV as a rocket blasts into space, a hippie climbing up on
scaffolding to look out over the Woodstock crowd, a young boy
staring out his window at a early-morning snow-blanketed street,
and a man putting down a chunk of rock on the table as those
gathered watch the Berlin Wall being torn down on TV. The
juxtaposition will provide surefire fodder for the blogosphere.
LeBron James
Basketball superstar LeBron James also lends his celebrity to the
ads. In a vignette, he is playing with a group of kids when one
breaks in front of him, zipping off and doing fancy dribbles down
the court. Mr. James stares after him and says "Wow." At the end of
every spot, a man opens his laptop in a darkened office while the
voice-over intones, "Every so often you experience something so
new, so delightfully unexpected, there's only one word for it."
Cue the Vista "Wow."