Ad Industry Roundup: Microsoft; MSNBC; Local Ads

(PaidContent.org)  This story was written by David Kaplan.

---

-- Microsoft's Seinfeld ads are a viral hit: While two ads featuring the odd couple of Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates were widely panned, online video tracker Visible Measures says the spots are soundly beating the software giant's new "I'm A PC" ads by a margin of 4.3 million viral video views. Of course, Jerry/Bill had a head start. But after two weeks, Visible Measures says, those ads were still attracting more than 700,000 views per day, while the "PC" clips have tapered off to less than 50,000 views per day. The reason? All the hate sparked dialogue and interest online. Still, whether the $300 million campaign translates into building up Microsoft's (NSDQ: MSFT) brand versus Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) remains to be seen.

-- MSNBC debuts self-serve ad program: With display advertising struggling, the news channel hopes a self-serve option will encourage small- to mid-sized businesses and local retailers to spend more on its site. The system, powered by tech provider AdReady, promises a complete banner ad program that includes geo-targeting and custom ad creation.

-- Marketers perplexed by local ads: Marketers want to use local websites for their ad efforts, but they just can't figure it out. A survey of 150 national advertisers or agencies who work with local advertising found that nearly half of the respondents are pursuing local online ads. The survey, commissioned by Marchex and conducted by Sterling Market Intelligence, also said that while 40 percent are dedicating at least a quarter of their online ad budget to local targeting, only 10 percent are targeting down to the DMA, city or ZIP code level.


By David Kaplan