Microsoft under fire for ad graffiti

SYDNEY: Microsoft has sparked controversy on Sydney streets and could be slapped with thousands of dollars in fines with to its latest marketing ploy for the Xbox gaming machine - street graffiti. The Xbox will only hit Australian shores in March next year, but marketing for the console is already flooding Australian streets. Microsoft is spending US$500 million to market its Xbox globally, but the company's attempts to target consumers with creative advertising have given it a great deal of bad press in Australia. Microsoft has sprayed hundreds of green crosses, depicting the green and black Xbox logo, on Sydney footpaths. Its outdoor strategy has irritated local councils which insist that they should not have to waste taxpayers' money to clean up Microsoft's mess. Spin Communications, the public relations company that co-ordinated much of the campaign, was reported as saying the logos would "wash off after a while". This explanation has not appeased South Sydney Council, which is planning to slap a $300 fine on the perpetrators to cover the cost of removing each logo in its area. Sydney City Council was also fired up. A spokesperson for the council said ratepayers have paid millions of dollars for new granite paving, which should not be used for commercial exploitation. The Xbox launched in the United States last month, with the entire stock of 300,000 units selling out within three hours. Late last month in Sydney, the company announced the Xbox would launch in Australia on March 14, 2002 and retail for $649. Desperate to break into the gaming market and steal marketshare from main rival Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft is reportedly losing between US$125 and $150 on each machine sold.

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