Following up on the Scroogled website that it launched in 2012 to put spotlight on the alleged schemes of Google to turn search results to paid advertisements and its protest of private Gmail data being utilized to serve targeted ads, Microsoft has opened the Scroogled section on its online store. The line of Scroogled products include a "Keep Calm Mug," "Scroogled Logo Hat," "Scroogled T-shirts," and "Scroogled Hoodies."
The store opened in time before the holidays in case Google haters want to spread the negative sentiments about the search engine company.
However, Scroogled is more than just a smear campaign. For Microsoft, it's payback time. Google had the "Don't Be Evil" mantra pointed at tech giants, especially Microsoft, during the time the search engine giant was just starting out. More than a decade later, Microsoft is finally paying back - by kicking off a marketing campaign centered on the term "Scroogled" (a play on the words "screwed" and "Google").
One of the featured products is the Scroogled Keep Calm Mug that sells for $8.
"Put 15-ounces of your favorite beverage into this stoneware mug to let the world know that even though Google is trying to make money on almost every aspect of your digital life, you're still calm. And fully caffeinated," its product description said. The mug's design boldly states, "KEEP CALM WHILE WE STEAL YOUR DATA." At the time of reporting, the Scroogled mug was out of stock, suggesting its popularity.
The Scroogled store also offers T-shirts printed with Google-bashing words.
The Scroogled Word Cloud Shirt contains words such as "Gulled. Humbugged. Buffaloed. Wire-tapped. Extorted. Sold out. Chicaned. Fleeced. Scammed. Conned. Surveilled. Double-dealt. Ensnared. Suckered. Sandbagged. Gossiped. Scandalmongered. Flimflammed. Skullduggered. Bamboozled" as part of its product description and as synonyms of the word scroogled. The shirt sells for $11.99.
According to a report on The Verge, the brains behind the Scroogled campaign is Mark Penn, Microsoft's executive vice president for advertising and strategy, who was also behind the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and wife Hillary.
Microsoft also pushed Scroogled TV advertisement before that led to a "tell Google to stop going through your email to sell ads" campaign being signed by more than 110,000 people, far higher than the original 25,000 goal of the company.
The maker of Windows software and Windows Phone platform have also rallied behind an anti-Apple campaign that poked fun on the design and features of the iPhone 5S and 5C. The ad, however, was pulled down after it received criticisms from all corners.
As for Google, it couldn't resist taking a dig at Microsoft's Scroogled merchandise. "Microsoft's latest venture comes as no surprise; competition in the wearables space really is heating up," the company said.
