Microsoft's search engine Bing has unveiled Rudolph the Reindeer as its mascot in its Christmas online advertising campaign.
The marketing campaign will comprise both TV and online ads that will debut this week. These ads will feature Rudolph and other animated Christmas characters in the search engine's attempt to compete with Google.
Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix, which measures the effectiveness of ads, stated that text ads running alongside search results attract some customers but they can lack the broader impact that TV ads have.
He said: "It's instructive that these companies who are all about the internet and doing things in real time are actually doing these emotive ads on TV."
Microsoft may be hoping to benefit from the festive season, as consumers will be more likely to use a search engine to find Christmas gifts, while advertisers will be willing to pay more for ad space.
The technology giant has recently teamed up with Yahoo! and AOL to sell the less-prized online ad spaces on each other's sites.
