Microsoft not killing Scroogled campaign after all

Microsoft has announced it will continue its Scroogled anti-Google marketing campaign.

Though a Microsoft spokeswoman told Neowin yesterday that "the ad portion of" the Scroogled advertising blitz against rival Google had "finished its scheduled run," it now appears Microsoft has no plans to stop the campaign anytime soon.

In a statement released to TechCrunch, Microsoft said "chapter two" of the "consumer education campaign" will be coming sometime soon.

"Scroogled will go on as long as Google keeps Scroogling people. We know Google doesn't like it when the facts come out," the statement reads. "Chapter two of the consumer education campaign has shown people care about their privacy. More than 3.5 million people visited scroogled.com, and nearly 115,000 people signed a petition asking Google to stop going through their Gmail. Stay tuned for the next chapter."

Microsoft's previous statement to Neowin said the "the ad portion of this phase of the consumer education campaign has finished its scheduled run," meaning the new iteration of the Scroogled campaign may simply involve literature or some other non-advertising method.

Scroogled has largely centered on the fact that Google's email service, Gmail, scans user emails to determine how to advertise to consumers. The campaign also touted that Google Shopping focused heavily on paid placements, putting paying companies above better results.

The anti-Google campaign has resulted in negative publicity for Microsoft itself, with several media outlets chastising the company for the strategy. Google's head of privacy, Keith Enrigh, said the campaign was "misleading" and "intellectually dishonest."

Source: TechCrunch | Image via Microsoft