The campaign is expected to make 6.6 billion impressions around the world. While Bill Gates graced New York City's Times Square and The Daily Show, in Asia the campaign is spreading through mostly on-ground and experiential initiatives. In Singapore, for example, Microsoft is holding a photography competition. In India, the Windows Vista logo will be ceremoniously unveiled against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal.
The pricey campaign may also help overshadow last year? blog fiasco, where the IT giant was rapped for handing out 'no-strings-attached' Vista-loaded laptops to select bloggers.
According to Amelia Agrawal, director of analyst relations and business group PR, Microsoft Asia-Pacific, Vista satisfies three needs of marketers today: "They have lots of information stored on their PCs, they are always on the go and they need tools which allow them to make decisions quickly," she said.
For example, Agrawal added, users will be able to see the content of files without having to open them, meanwhile locating applications and files instantly and navigate through open windows.
Vista touts a revamped interface, faster navigation, tightened security and three-dimensional graphics.
Although much of this year's IT buzz has focused on the new Apple iPhone, Microsoft's first OS upgrade in over five years could prove more fundamental if, like Windows, it captures 90 per cent of the PC market.
Despite tepid initial sales, a Microsoft-funded report from IDG tips Vista to generate $70 billion in sales and create 157,000 related jobs this year. Microsoft partners were expected to invest US$400 million in Vista-related projects, according to the report.
AirAsia recently partnered with Microsoft to create its own mini-application called a 'widget' - an AirAsia widget can be added to Vista's sidebar, creating a direct link between the airline and its consumers.
Still, one Singapore-based analyst was not optimistic about corporate sales, given that most were satisfied with Windows XP. "Generally IT managers are very conservative so they will probably wait until the first set of errors have been reported."
