Microsoft exec Brian McAndrews says his company is well positioned to take advantage of what they see as a shift from search back to display advertising, reports Bloomberg.

Andrews, Microsoft's head of advertising and publishing, says that the reign of search is coming to a close as brand advertisers shift more of their spending to banners and video.

He sees the shift arriving in the "next several years" as companies seek advertising formats that are more familiar to what they're doing in print and on television.

Microsoft has lagged behind market leader Google in the business of text-based search ads and has beefed up its display offerings, including buying Andrews' former company aQuantive.

Google is playing catch-up — albeit quickly — in the display ad market, largely by buying its way in through the purchase of DoubleClick.