How badly does Microsoft want to promote the Zune? Not badly enough to think of anything particularly ingenious. Unique? yes. Succesful? No. Apparently, Microsoft has decided that every user who sets MSN as their home page will be entered to win one of 50 Zunes.

Step one: set your home page to MSN. Not using Internet Explorer? No problem, Microsoft has a page that explains how to do it in Firefox, Opera, Netscape and Safari.

Step two: enter your e-mail address so that you can be contacted … if you win. Of course you can change it right back (or not change it at all?), but Microsoft hopes the majority of users will fall in love with the site right away. Sure, many people will enter the contest and avoid MSN for the rest of their lives, but many fools will be convinced that keeping MSN as their home page will get them a Zune, someday. What are the chances that those ignorant people even know what a Zune is?

Giving away free Zunes? Sure, that gets them off the shelves. Microsoft seems confident that if they get enough units into circulation, the devices may start raising eyebrows. Someone should tell Microsoft that a first generation product never gets far in a saturated market. Oh yeah, and free Zunes don’t generate much revenue. It probably comes down to advertisements on MSN’s page. I guess the company just wants to push this model for as long as they can, before they start shelling out new ones. Instead of bothering with this useless marketing move, they could go ahead and hire more engineers and think of something to beat the clickwheel. But why do that when you can do something that needs less effort? Oh well, this may actually do some good. Maybe some users won’t have spyware sites as their home page anymore. [MSN & Zune Promotion Link]

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