Microsoft beats Yahoo and YouTube in ad campaign

If reports are to be believed, Microsoft has beaten off competition from Yahoo! and Google’s YouTube in getting a new ad campaign. The ad is a combination of a mobile, internet and video games ad. Microsoft has made the ad agreement with Discovery Communications, Inc. to promote “The Deadliest Catch” for the upcoming 5th season.

Vice president of marketing strategy at the Discovery Channel, Donna Murphy said in an interview that Microsoft are like rock stars in this promotion.

At the promotion of the premiere of “Deadliest Catch” Discovery will take over Fox Sports, MSN.com and MSNBC. This is for the first time that so much space is devoted to a single advertiser by these sites.

A mobile-phone contest is also being held where the points can be used to buy movies and video games from Microsoft’s Xbox online service.

It has been reported that Microsoft is talking to Yahoo in regards to advertising. According to Kara Swisher at All Things D, there is a possibility that all the display advertising business will go to Yahoo! and Microsoft will acquire Search.

Although they are competitors in the Internet space, the deal could bring both the companies closer.