Microsoft is offering up an ad for its upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, in conjunction with MIX 10. The funny thing is, I don't remember Microsoft saying anything about the hardware requirements including a funky Star Trek-style hologram projector ... oh, wait, never mind.

If this ad suggests Microsoft's future campaign for Windows Phone 7 Series, then the company will be playing very safe. The video highlights many of the operating system's key features, such as Facebook integration and its "hubs" aggregating mobile apps and Web content, but doesn't try anything too funky--although "Anna" seems a bit too overjoyed to be getting a message from the babysitter at the very end.

I think this is actually a good direction for Microsoft to take. Whenever their advertising tries to be hip, it inevitably implodes. See the Vista ads with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld for an idea of what I mean:

But when Microsoft sticks to the strict middle of the road, as it did with the "Laptop Hunters" ad campaign and its focus on price, or the "Windows 7 Was My Idea" spots and their focus on random passersby with delusions of grandeur, then the reaction seems to generally be more positive and longer-lasting. I expect, based on this first ad, that subsequent spots will try to show how Windows Phone 7 Series impacts the daily lives of "real people."

What do think of this new ad? Effective, or does it make you say, "Blah"?