14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft launched the Scroogled campaign with much fanfare in November 2012, soon after the debut of Windows 8, in an attempt to disclose some of the bad practices that Google came down to for a number of services, including the search engine and Gmail.
The same campaign was later updated not necessarily to trash Google but rather to put Microsoft’s products in a good light, with well-known figures, such as those from Pawn Stars, presenting the advantages of using Windows laptops over Chromebooks.
As of this week, however, the Scroogled website no longer exists and the page automatically redirects users to a new campaign called “Why Microsoft.” This new effort is specifically aimed at businesses, and while it also provides some comparisons with rival products, it does it in a much less aggressive way than Scroogled did.
A more gentleman Microsoft
The new “Why Microsoft” campaign proves that the Redmond-based software giant has adopted a more respectful approach, and instead of words that trash its rivals, it uses phrases that most of the time point out to the advantages of its products.
“We combine decades of innovation to deliver high performance, low costs, and a competitive edge for your business. Explore how enterprise-proven solutions from Microsoft stack up against our competitors,” one of the descriptions published on the website reads.
While Microsoft silently killed the Scroogled campaign, some predicted it since April 2014, when Derrick Connell, Microsoft corporate vice president working in the Bing Experiences team, explained that Redmond was done with Scroogled.
What’s more, Microsoft told us in a statement at that time that “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.”
Satya Nadella keeps changing Microsoft
Ever since February 2014, when he replaced Steve Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft, Satya Nadella has continuously worked to change the company’s image, and dropping the Scroogled campaign seems to be a very logical step in this regard.
There’s no doubt that the new Microsoft perfectly mirrors Nadella’s more respectful approach in the same way the old Microsoft did with Ballmer’s always passionate and hard-changing behavior.
At the time of writing this article, the @Scroogled Twitter handle still exists, but the last post is dated March 2014, so we’ve reached out to Microsoft to see whether the Scroogled campaign is indeed dead or if the company is preparing a similar effort in the near future.