No Zing for the Zune

Already the butt of jokes on late-night TV and online, Microsoft's MSFT Zune apparently is not getting much help from retailers who sell the product.

"I've never heard of the Zune."

"I don't suggest the Zune, because it is really heavy."

"Who makes that?"

That's a sample of comments compiled by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who recently quizzed salespeople at 40 big-box consumer electronics stores to gauge what MP3 players they suggested to customers, at the more-than $200 price-point.

Only 8% recommended the Zune, compared with 75% who endorsed Apple's AAPL iPod.

"Some MP3 player salespeople had not even heard of the Zune, despite the fact that they sold it in their store," Munster wrote in a Tuesday note. He has an outperform rating on Apple. His firm makes a market in the stock, and does and seeks to do business with the companies covered in its research reports.

The awareness problem is not limited to the shops, it seems. Gartner analyst Mike McGuire says he hasn't seen much mainstream advertising pushing the Zune, either.

"It's a little odd from my perspective," he says. "We're going into this big buying season. I would have expected a little more noise on the advertising promo front."

"With the iPod, it was saturation, it was everywhere," McGuire says. "Aside from the product itself, that's a big part of the reason Apple has been as successful as it has."