• Ad Age, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 10:33 AM

After Google acquired DoubleClick, Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's president of platforms and services, felt compelled to pen a letter to the software giant's long and varied list clients, reassuring them of the company's commitment to Web services and online advertising. The GoogleClick announcement wasn't the best timing for Microsoft, coming a few weeks before the company's annual client summit. "While we share your concerns, we maintain our sharp focus on this industry and we will continue to invest heavily in innovation and partnerships in this area," Johnson wrote.

For Johnson and co., there are big questions to be answered. As Google adds billions to its bottom line each year, MSN, Microsoft's Web portal, has been a money vacuum, dragged along by the strength of the company's software business. How much longer will Microsoft keep that up?

Johnson responded that Microsoft's digital advertising solution is "a key differentiator" because it makes ad buys easier across the MSN network. Well, as nice as it must be to have a wonderful ad tool, the product is worthless as long as the content stinks. And it does. What is Live, even? Is there hope for Live Search? What happens if Silverlight doesn't turn out to be the savior it's touted as?

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