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Microsoft will pay comedian Jerry Seinfeld $10 million to advertise its Windows Vista operating system. In all, the campaign, which includes a series of ads featuring Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, will cost $300 million.

Based on the theme "Windows Not Walls," the series aims to shed a more favorable light on Windows Vista. Launched by Microsoft's new ad agency, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the campaign is set to debut Sept. 4 and will be one of Microsoft's largest ad blitzes. Crispin is credited with turning around Burger King's image.

In a move to compete with Apple's attention-getting "Mac vs PC" ads that spotlight Apple's so-called coolness factor, Microsoft is looking to comedian Jerry Seinfeld to pep up its advertising.

The $300 million advertising campaign will star Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, according to The Wall Street Journal. Based on the theme "Windows Not Walls," the series aims to shed a more favorable light on Windows Vista.

The growing advertising ambitions of technology powerhouses like Google and Microsoft, reflected in Google's recent linkup with Yahoo and Microsoft's efforts to keep pace, are creating alarm in ad agency executive suites.

At an annual gathering in the south of France, agency executives harshly criticized Google's agreement to place ads alongside Yahoo search results. The move could strengthen Google's dominance over the most lucrative portion of the fast-growing online advertising business.