Microsoft moves cloud-computing biz to Deutsch

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Microsoft has shifted a chunk of its advertising (the cloud-computing business) to IPG’s Deutsch, New York, from WPP’s JWT. The move comes after an unusually quick review process for which Microsoft reached out to major holding companies including WPP, Interpublic, Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe. Microsoft recently announced its Windows Azure cloud-computing platform.


Ad Age first reported the agency review earlier this month. At the time, Microsoft said it was looking beyond JWT to make sure it’s “getting the freshest thinking in how we talk to our customers about a wide range of commercial products around the world.”

Microsoft said in a statement: “We’ve completed the agency review for our all-up Microsoft commercial campaign, and have awarded the business to the Deutsch unit of Interpublic Group’s Lowe. We look forward to building a partnership with the team at Deutsch on this business. JWT remains an integral part of our world-class agency roster and will remain agency of record for the Bing and Office brands. Wunderman remains our global agency of record for relationship marketing.”

Microsoft spent more than $1 billion on advertising in the U.S. last year, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter, which ranks Microsoft as the 32nd-biggest national advertiser.