Microsoft's TechEd Europe conference, being held Nov. 9 to 13, so far has suggested two things: 1) that Microsoft fully intends to extend its "New Efficiency" theme past the Windows 7 launch, and 2) that some creative types within the company are being allowed to run totally rampant.

In a keynote address launching the conference in Berlin, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop built on CEO Steve Ballmer's line from before the Windows 7 launch in suggesting that companies would achieve growth from innovation, as part of what the company is trying to brand "the new efficiency."

"Real, sustainable growth is not going to come from cutting costs," Elop said. "Instead, achieving new efficiencies and growth will come from improvements in productivity and new innovation ... these enhancements will be delivered in a way that [fulfills] customers' compliance needs."

(Innovation might be a vital component of growth, but as demonstrated in Microsoft's last earnings report, business streamlining and headcount reductions can at least help a company deliver better-than-expected earnings in the midst of a global recession.)

During a company event in San Francisco on Sept. 29, Steve Ballmer suggested that the "new efficiency" would see companies--and specifically IT shops--through the economic recession and its aftermath.

"I think IT is going through a period of new efficiency," Ballmer told the audience at the event. "It relates to this notion that the same pressures that have been on IT for years ... [are now] accompanied by the pressure to run a cost-effective IT shop."

In a separate letter titled "The New Efficiency" and released to customers and partners on Sept. 29, Ballmer further outlined the theme as one that would "not only help companies respond to today's economic reality, it will lay the foundation for systems and solutions that connect people to information, applications and ... other people in new ways."

Obviously, Microsoft would like companies and their IT shops to see Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010 as an ecosystem within which they can innovate and grow. If enough companies sign on for that, of course, Microsoft can then boost its own bottom line; during its most recent earnings call, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell suggested that the growth in Windows division revenue "will be in line with overall PC growth" over the next several quarters--presumably, sales from other Microsoft divisions will be tied to any similar rise in hardware spending.

The 7,200 attendees at TechEd Europe, along with anyone watching online, found themselves learning not only about the "new efficiency," but also that some Microsoft creative types have perhaps gone stark raving mad.

How else to explain the videos flashed during the keynote? The first, titled, "We Love You," featured dream sequence in which a bespectacled developer, dressed in a king's robe and a crown, was hand-fed massive amounts of cake while a crowd cheered him on. The second, titled, "My Whole Saturday," was another dream sequence, with the same developer playing on a fake stage-set with a person in a giant fox costume; they ate cotton candy, played some soccer, and then jumped in a leaf pile.

Watching the latter ad, I entertained the idea for a moment that the fox was supposed to represent some sort of Firefox mascot, and that something terrible would happen to the beastie in the final seconds. But when the clip ended with the fox unharmed, and the keynote continued, I was left scratching my head: Is Microsoft trying to suggest that every developer's dream is to be force-fed massive amounts of sugar and carbohydrates, sometimes in partnership with a large furry animal? Paging Dr. Freud, Line 1.

It reminded me a little of Windows 7's trippy wallpaper options, some of which suggested a mash-up between the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" film and something created by Katsuhiro Otomo. It also suggested that Microsoft is better when it sticks to nuts-and-bolts presentations, and sort of loses its way when it tries whimsy.