Bing to sponsor the Simpsons

It has been announced that Microsoft’s Bing search engine will be the new sponsor of The Simpsons when it is shown on Channel 4. The three-month deal is thought to be worth over half a million pounds.

Microsoft is looking to raise awareness about its new search engine and is using traditional advertising means as well as those online. Bing will sponsor The Simpsons on weeknights on both Channel 4 and Channel 4+1. This will be Microsoft’s first TV partnership and will coincide with the 20th anniversary of the immensely popular cartoon sit-com.

The adverts will incorporate Simpsons characters and will be shown before and after each episode as well as in the ad breaks. Different Simpson family members will be shown using the search engine to solve problems.

Bing was launched in November of last year as Microsoft made a renewed effort to close the gap on Google and Yahoo! According to the most recent statistics concerning internet usage, Bing currently has 4 per cent of the market share in the UK, as does Yahoo! Google is still way out in front with 86 per cent of the market.