Microsoft’s Scroogled campaign is one of the marketing tactics that Microsoft has employed in the past to make Google look bad, and to make themselves look better by comparison. The Scroogled videos do not hold back and point out every flaw and weakness that Microsoft believes is present in Google’s products and services, like Chromebooks, Gmail, and even went as far as selling Scroogled clothing and accessories.
However could it be that Microsoft has had enough and has decided to put things to an end? We heard back in 2013 how that was a possibility and in a recent report on ZDNet, it seems like the Scroogled campaign has indeed come to a close.
During a Q&A session held by Microsoft, Derrick Connell, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President who is in charge of the Bing experience team, revealed that Microsoft is done with the Scroogled campaign. When asked about what he thought about the campaign, Connell was quoted as saying, “It is tricky as you want to raise awareness and do it in a fun way. I think we achieved that goal, and changed some policies, and we are now done with the campaign.”
ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley followed up by asking Microsoft if that was really the case, in which a spokesperson responded with a statement saying, “We are always evaluating and evolving our marketing campaigns. There are times when we use our marketing to highlight differences in how we see the world compared to competitors, and the Scroogled campaign is an example of this. Moving forward, we will continue to use all the right approaches and tactics when and where they make sense.”
The statement is a bit vague and does not outright confirm that the Scroogled campaign is done for 100%, but at the same time it does not deny it either. If anything it just sounds like Microsoft might have put the campaign on the backburner for now and might even revisit the campaign in the future, or at least keeping that possibility open. In the meantime, anyone else sad/happy that the Scroogled campaign is over?