Greetings. There's no escaping the buzz -- and the newly launched, very expensive advertising campaign -- relating to Microsoft's new Bing search engine (which they're calling a "decision engine").

The merits and limitations of the Bing product aside, the ad campaign is already showing signs of being in the "take no prisoners" category of promotion, in one case almost seeming to suggest that Microsoft's search competitors were somehow responsible for the world's current economic meltdown.

One can't deny that the new Bing commercials are some serious eye candy. In fact, the first one I saw was very much of the "cuts are so fast -- what the hell did I just see?" variety. Very 21st century.

That editing style can be a bit disconcerting though, since you're never completely sure what was just plowed into your brain.

But it seems to be a very convincing format. After watching that spot a single time, I felt an almost uncontrollable feeling that I should immediately close all of my Google accounts, switch my browser search defaults from Google to Bing, replace all of my Linux servers with Microsoft server products, and buy a box of condoms.

Luckily, I managed to restrain myself from all of those urges.

Since most commercials don't tend to affect me this way, I ran the spot's video through some special software of my own, which quickly solved the mystery. You still have to watch closely, but it's easier to understand why that commercial packs such a convincing punch after viewing:

YouTube Video: Parallax Bing

--Lauren--