Microsoft wants to show consumers where Windows meets the Web.
The software giant is gearing up for a major ad push to highlight how its suite of free online software connects to its Windows operating system over the Internet.
The campaign also underscores a broader shift in strategy for Microsoft, which is trying to defend its bread-and-butter Windows business applications while extending its reach onto the Web.
The company was hoping to keep the ad assignment under wraps while it auditions ad agencies to handle creative duties on the $300 million piece of business, according to sources familiar with the pitch.
Microsoft declined to comment on the assignment.
Microsoft’s lead ad agency, McCann Erickson, is competing for the new assignment, along with Fallon, JWT and Crispin Porter & Bogusky.
“They are trying to make Windows cool, relevant and Internet-centric,” said one source close to the company. “They don’t want to be seen as a stodgy computer company.”
At the same time, consumers are trying to make sense of the company’s dizzying array of products. Aside from the Vista operating system, the company has its hands in everything from video games, with the Xbox console, to digital music with the Zune player.
The company still gets most of its profit from selling packaged software that runs on personal computers, but it faces competition from Google and others that are offering free Web-based software applications.
Earlier this month, Microsoft released a full package of online software marketed under the Windows Live umbrella that includes applications for messaging, blogging and sharing photos.
The challenge for whichever agency gets the creative assignment is helping consumers understand what Windows Live is in relation to its other Web offerings.
Microsoft took a piecemeal approach to building out its Microsoft Live services, perplexing even people who follow the company closely.
Many consumers couldn’t tell the difference between Microsoft’s Web properties, such as its MSN site, and Windows Live, which is a collection of individual applications.
“They have some work to do,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft. “The strategy is a little fragmented.”