How far is it from Redmond to the Seattle airport?

Microsoft may be the host at the MSN Strategic Account Summit here in Redmond, Wash., but its guests are not mincing words about the fact the company is behind in the online advertising battle.

In the event's first panel, ad executive Rishad Tobaccowala said that Google's rapid iteration of its ideas is "one of the reasons Google is running circles around Microsoft."

Moderator Jim Stengel, the chief marketing officer of Procter & Gamble, asked MSN executive Joanne Bradford whether Tobaccowala could stay on stage. Yes, she said, but added she was not sure "how he's getting to the airport."

"Do you reallly think I should be afraid of Google?" Bradford followed up with, a minute or two later.

"I want a bus ride back," Tobaccowala said, without commenting further.

Update: Undaunted by the first round of feedback, Bradford asked the next guest, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, to share his favorite thing on the Web.

"That would put me in a terribly difficult position," he said, showing a British sense of diplomacy. "What would you like me to say?"

Sorrell, an expert in branding, decided to speak in generics. "It's mainly e-mail, and it's streaming video."