• Ad Age, Tuesday, December 4, 2007 11:45 AM

Microsoft execs have long enjoyed tweaking their competitors but these days, ridicule is giving way to worry. Feeling the pressure from rivals Apple and Google, the company is readying a huge ad effort behind its consumer products starting in 2008. The company is hearing pitches from four agencies -- including incumbent McCann Erickson and Crispin Porter & Bogusky -- for a new campaign backed by a $200-million-to-$300-million in media.

Microsoft isn't talking, but insiders say it's being pushed at a high level and is aimed at increasing demand for products it thinks are taken for granted by consumers and risk losing out to cooler alternatives. Part of the approach is to persuade consumers to switch from rival programs by touting Microsoft's reliability.

"This is not an advertising problem," says one agency exec. And Robert Passikoff, founder-president of consultancy Brand Keys, agrees: "It's a product challenge. The consumer offering isn't integrated. It appears cobbled together."

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