Microsoft set to launch Windows Phone 7 campaign

Eight global ads by Crispin Porter + Bogusky are set to start airing, leading with 'Really' and 'Season of the witch' . The ads will roll out in Europe first followed by the US.

Sources report that Microsoft has invested as much as US$400 to $500 million on the initial WP7’s TV, print and digital campaign.

Microsoft has launched nine Windows Phone 7 handsets through partnerships with more than 60 mobile operators in over 30 countries across in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

The TVC's showcase times when people are immersed in their phones and ignoring more important things in life. People ask: ‘Really?’ (meaning “are you kidding?”), with men missing chances with beautiful women and surgeons wasting valuable operating table time because of their phones.

Microsoft says it is making ‘a phone, that will save us from our phones’ with WP7. The new model is designed to get people in and out of their phone easily and quickly. This means enhancing the interphase with application tiles, integrating the phone with Office, Xbox and Zune, and mobile models in different price points to appeal to a bigger demographic.

“As a society we’re spending more time heads-down with our phones than we are interacting with the people we’re sitting right in front of,” said Todd Peters, Microsoft corporate VP of mobile communications marketing group.

He continued: “When people see the ads for the first time, it’s amazing how much self-recognition there is - that sense of ‘I have totally done that’".

As well as the eight TVC's, there are six 30-second TV spots on specific mobile functions such as use photos, People Hub, Xbox LIVE and Bing.

Social media elements will include hosting dialogue and activities between the public and Microsoft on WP7. This will be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace.

Really:

Season of the witch: