Microsoft Reboots MSN TV.

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Author: Van Camp, Scott

Microsoft, which has been trying to push the idea of a Web-surfing set-top box since the mid-'90s, will try again this week with the MSN TV2 Internet & Media Player, which will be backed by a direct-response TV campaign that skews younger than past efforts.

Originally targeted at Internet neophytes, the new device still lets beginners browse the Web, and send and receive e-mail. But the unit is now broadband and home network enabled, allowing digitally savvy users to view video and photos taken off their PCs.

The campaign, with the tagline "Get in your comfort zone," breaks on cable channels with three DRTV spots via Euro RSCG 4D, Portland, Ore. Three print ads, via Wunderman, San Francisco, run in pubs like Family Circle, Oprah, AARP and Parade. An online component, also via Wunderman, will follow.

The $199 units roll out in mid-October through national retailers like Best Buy and CompUSA, and via the Web at Amazon.com. Initial buyers will get two months of free service, which costs $9.95 per month for broadband users and $21.95 per month for dial-up users. Microsoft is also offering current MSN TV subscribers a $25 rebate on the new product through an e-mail campaign.

"The marketing challenge is to appeal to both the broadband users and the laggards," said Kevin Mizuhara, senior marketing manager at Microsoft.

Microsoft declined to reveal the budget for the campaign. The unit spent $9 million on media in 2003, and $3 million through June of this year.

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By Scott Van Camp