Intel, which for years focused advertising on what it puts inside of PCs, is reportedly getting ready to launch a major corporate ad campaign that markets the company as an innovator driving technology's future.

Intel ads anchored by the slogan "Sponsors of Tomorrow" are expected to run in print publications, broadcast outlets, and the Internet, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The upcoming campaign would be the latest of many Intel has launched over the years as a major promoter of the high-tech industry.

Intel was not immediately available for comment.

If true, however, the campaign would mark a shift in focus from when Intel marketed what's inside the computer. Examples include the "Intel Inside" campaign of the 1990s and the more recent advertising of product brands, such as the Centrino mobile platform.

The change in marketing strategy would make sense, because mainstream PC buyers are becoming less interested in what's inside a computer and how powerful the system is, and more interested in how the machine would be useful. A reflection of this trend is the growth in low-power devices, such as smartphones and mobile Internet devices, and in low-cost mini-laptops called netbooks.

Along with promoting itself as an innovator, Intel has also been trying to draw attention to its contribution to the U.S. economy. Chief executive Paul Otellini in February announced in Washington, D.C., that the company would spend $7 billion over the next year on getting U.S. manufacturing facilities ready to build future products.

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