New Microsoft 'Windows Everywhere' ad crosses product boundaries

Microsoft is set to debut a new ad tonight that aims to blurs the boundaries between its different product groups.

Called "Windows Everywhere," the spot shows off how devices and services, including Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Skype, Office 365, Surface, Bing, Internet Explorer and Xbox Music & Video "give consumers one experience across devices for everything in their lives," a spokesperson said. 

The ad is set to air tonight during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the spokesperson said.

The ad is meant to reflect Microsoft's evolving devices and services corporate positioning. The ad will be "the first time people will see Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Surface in one ad," a spokesperson said. "With this spot, the company is moving away from how it traditionally talks about individual products to showcase how its services light up across the multiple devices that people use," the spokesperson added.

The tag line for the ad is "Windows: One experience. On every device. For everything in your life."

The timing of the new ad campaign may or may not be coincidental.

According to various reports, Microsoft is rumored to be finalizing details of a company-wide reorg that would better reflect the way that products and services are being developed, tested, sold and updated.

According to a couple of my tipsters, the reorg, which could come any time now, might result in the product groups being realigned so that they reflect Microsoft's devices and services (or possibly devices, services and software) charter. The Windows and Windows Phone teams might end up as part of the new devices team, if Microsoft opts to to this route, sources have said.

I've heard that Microsoft could possibly appoint two leaders for each of its new business segments, so that "services" would have a head focused more on business needs and another focused more on consumer needs. If that happens, there'd be a new kind of "matrix" organization in place, with devices, services (and possibly software) being headed by multiple leaders.

Whether Microsoft will continue to appoint dedicated Chief Financial Officers for each of its new business divisions will be interesting. The company has put a CFO in charge of each of its current five business units -- Windows Client, Server & Tools, Business Division, Online Services and Entertainment & Devices -- since 2003.

I haven't heard word about what such a reorg might mean for how Microsoft's salesforce is organizes and operates.

Microsoft's new fiscal year begins on July 1.