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.
