Microsoft Beginning Campaign for Windows 98

Microsoft Corp. is starting a national print and online advertising campaign this week to coincide with the retail launch of its Windows 98 operating system.

Developed by Wieden and Kennedy in Portland, OR, and Anderson & Lembke in San Francisco, the ads, which continue through September, will center on the key benefits of the product such as performance, reliability and new computer opportunities, according to Kim Akers, product manager for Windows 98.

“We want to spur consumer consideration of Windows 98 and have them make the decision to upgrade,” she told Reuters.

The ads will talk about new features such as the ability to watch television and DVD movies. The campaign also will include the promotion of partner hardware products that work well with the system, Akers said. Partners include Hewlett-Packard scanners, Eastman Kodak digital cameras, and modems from U.S. Robotics.

Print ads with the tagline “Works better. Plays better” will appear in consumer magazines such as the New Yorker, Life, Bon Appetit, and Time, and consumer-oriented computer magazines such as Family PC and ComputerLife.

Banner ads will appear in all of the search engine sites as well as news and entertainment sites like Disney, Warner Brothers, and ESPN. Spending on the campaign was not disclosed.

“This is the first time that there is enough critical mass on the Internet that we can do a lot more with online advertising,” Akers was quoted as saying.

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