Microsoft briefly revive mascot Clippy before ‘brand police’ swiftly kill him off AGAIN
- Microsoft’s virtual assistant, Clippy, was revived but not for long
- After making a brief appearance on Microsoft’s Teams software it was removed
- Sources say Clippy, which returned in sticker form, was killed by ‘brand police’
- Some users are taking to Microsoft forums in protest of the removal
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In the 1993 classic film ‘The Sandlot,’ the specter of Major League Baseball star and pop icon, Babe Ruth, famously opines, ‘Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.’
For ‘Clippy,’ Microsoft’s famed, or in some cases, infamous, virtual assistant, both suppositions of Ruth’s adage in the 90’s hit turned out to be true.
This week, after a prolonged dormancy, Clippy made an appearance in a sticker pack for Microsoft’s unified communications platform, Teams, and then later in the company’s official Github page for Office developer.
But just as easily as Microsoft brought the virtual personality back, the company’s marketing department took it away almost immediately.
This week, after a prolonged dormancy, Clippy made an appearance in a sticker pack for Microsoft’s unified communications platform, Teams, and then later in the company’s official Github page for Office developer
WHO IS CLIPPY?
In 1997, Microsoft introduced its virtual assistant, Clippy, to users of Microsoft Office.
The anthropomorphic paper clip would appear on-screen to help users carry out a number of tasks and provide advice.
Eventually, after coming to be loathed by many, Clippy suffered its ultimate blow and was killed off by Microsoft entirely in 2007.
The legacy of Clippy, however, has endured in memes, parodies, and most recently, a deleted sticker pack in Microsoft Teams.
According to a report from The Verge, Clippy disappeared from both locations just a day after being introduced at the behest of what one source called the ‘brand police.’
‘Clippy has been trying to get his job back since 2001, and his brief appearance on GitHub was another attempt,’ a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge in a statement.
‘While we appreciate the effort, we have no plans to bring Clippy to Teams.’
For those that might not remember, Clippy, a friendly anthropomorphic paper clip, was a ‘virtual office assistant’ featured in versions of Microsoft Office from 1997 to 2003.
Though the digital mascot was designed to help Office users carry out a number of tasks by offering advice and tutorials, it eventually came to be loathed by many as a distraction and an annoyance for frequently popping up on screens unprompted.
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Clippy would frequently offer writing tips in Microsoft Word
Microsoft eventually killed Clippy, going as far as to show the mascot being obliterated as a promotional tool.
For fans of the late assistant, however, it may not be all bad news.
In an informal petition of sorts, users have taken to Microsoft’s Uservoice forums asking for the company to heed the calls of nostalgic fans and bring the mascot back to the Microsoft universe.
Mega fans who simply can’t wait for Clippy’s return can alternatively download a free Google Chrome browser extension to add the mascot to all of your web pages.
‘Adds Clippy to every web page you visit,’ reads the extensions official description. ‘He is SUPER USEFUL!!’
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