Microsoft this week rolled out its first multi-product global holiday ad campaign. The commercials, running in 35 countries through January, integrate an array of Microsoft branded products — Windows, Windows Phone, Kinect for Xbox and Office — targeted at families.

The 30-second TV spot above (which debuted during Sunday Night Football) is called "Epic Share." It features a dad playing Dance Central 2 on an Xbox 360 with Kinect as his teasing kids capture his "tech-no" dance moves on a Windows Phone, before using Windows editing software to share the footage.

The second holiday spot — "Dog.PPT," below — features a boy giving a PowerPoint presentation to his skeptical parents on why the family needs a dog, which inspires his father to try his own presentation.Continue reading...

When it comes to advertising dollars, TV still rules the roost. According to eMarketer, $60.5 billion per year is spent on television ads. So online video ads, which pull in $2.2 billion annually from advertisements, have a long way to go.

YouTube is trying to figure out ways to get there, according to the New York Times.

“We would love YouTube to be a much larger part of brands’ advertising budget and mix in the next year and the future than it is today,” said Lucas Watson, who was hired as YouTube’s vice president of online video global sales from Proctor & Gamble in June, the Times reports. 

Watson was P&G’s head of digital strategy and brought with him digital marketing knowledge as well as info on the packaged-goods industry, a sector that has been slow to advertise online.Continue reading...

All Nippon Airways triggers security jitters with near-overturn.

AOL kills off Seed news service.

Apple's iPhone 5 rumored to feature deep Twitter integration, as Twitter's valuation soars and Blockbuster CMO falls in love with Twitter.

Friendly's ice cream chain prepares to file for bankruptcy protection.

Gamestop and Coke partner on largest Scvngr game to date.

Google shakes up web analytics with $150K paid service.

Microsoft is adding Comcast and Verizon pay TV to Xbox Live.

Netflix stock tumbles to new low.

RIM denies it's killing the BlackBerry PlayBook.Continue reading...

U.S. House is expected to pass debt ceiling bill tonight, with the Senate set to vote Tuesday.

Amazon launches AmazonLocal daily deals in Groupon's hometown of Chicago; launches MyHabit app to compete with Gilt Groupe; beefs up streaming offering to compete with Hulu by adding Universal titles; and looks to expand Kindle library.

Apple iPhone 5 now rumored for October; Apple TV lets users buy TV shows with streaming update; and Apple blocks Samsung tablet release in Australia.

Twitter confirms "significant" ($800M?) funding round led by Russia's DST Global; adds Dutch and Indonesian local sites; and opens NYC office.

Adobe bows to Apple and builds Flash alternative.

Airbnb looks to defuse user security concerns by offering $50,000 guarantee to homeowners.

Allstate to shut banking unit, posts $620M in losses on tornado claims.Continue reading...

Apple exceeds one million Lion downloads on first day.

Borders liquidation plan approved by judge, while 11th hour Books-A-Million offer may save up to 30 stores, as employees start Google+ group.

California Milk Processor Board pulls controversial PMS campaign.

Etsy founder steps aside for new CEO.

Facebook Comments add videos, photos and website previews.

Fiat buys up US government stake in Chrysler.

Ford and Chevrolet will enhance NYC taxi fleet.Continue reading...

How leading industry brands are performing in social media customer service comes under the microscope in a new study released by market researcher Alterian — specifically, how effectively 12 brands are using social media to resolve customers' issues and the impact on their marketing efforts.

Microsoft was the top performer in the report — titled "Social Media Report Cards: Measuring Brand Engagement" — across all industries, achieving the highest overall score for social media customer service. 

Alterian's researchers examined brand leaders in six industries: travel, banking, cable, mobile, gaming and consumer electronics, and concluded that higher scores went to brands showing “a correlation between rapid customer service response times and positive consumer sentiment on social media.”Continue reading...

Say goodbye to the remote control fumble. Better yet, don't just say it — show it, too.

Today at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Microsoft unveiled NUads, short for natural user interface ads, as a way for marketers and advertisers to bake voice and gesture-based response mechanisms into television ads seen by Xbox Kinect users.

The new advertising platform enables consumers to share content on Twitter, "like" and post on Facebook, and interact with branded content on their mobile phones, all in a quest to engage Xbox users more successfully than traditional TV advertising.Continue reading...

A new Green Lantern clip proves that the Green Lantern may be able to imagine anything into existence, but if he wants a delicious foot-long sub, all he needs is $5.

The Subway product placement is just one of the myriad brand tie-ins trying to get a taste of the latest summer superhero. While X-Men: First Class seemed to eschew product partners, Green Lantern is more than making up for it.Continue reading...