Microsoft’s Scroogled campaign is a hit – according to 3rd party research

By Michael Archambault
last updated

Have you not seen the thousands of people running for Bing and Outlook.com, screaming that they have to get away from the evil organization that is Google? No? Well, neither have I. According to research collected by two 3rd party firms, the Scroogled campaign has been more than a success, "For Microsoft it’s a win".

Microsoft’s all negative and full attack advertisements have been a controversy for Microsoft fans and non-fans alike; they may sit on the ad shelf as one of the most ruthless technology campaigns around. We usually only see the direct-attack tactics used by Microsoft in political campaign ads.

Answers Research, has reported that after users visit the Scroogled campaign’s website, the favorability gap in favor of Google services drops from 45% to just 5%. In addition, the company has stated that over the previous summer, the chances of someone recommending Google to a friend has dropped by 10% and has increased by 7% for Bing.

According to Jonathan Symonds, Ace Metrix’s Executive Vice-President of Marketing, the idea that people would even consider switching to Bing over Google is enough of a victory and "Microsoft will happily accept these outcomes".

A Microsoft spokesman commented on the current campaign:

"The Scroogled campaign is having a huge impact as consumers learn the stark difference between what Google says and what Google does."

As one might imagine, Google’s reaction to the Scroogled campaign’s supposed results was no less than sarcastic - "Don’t think we have a comment on this one."

Whether you agree with the tactics Microsoft is taking in its Scroogled campaign or not – it is supposedly having a positive impact for the company and driving people away from Google at the same time.

Have any of your friends or family switched away from Google due to the Scroogled campaign?

Source: AdAge; via CNET

118 Comments
  • Well, I'm not just tired of the search engine and email, I'm angry at google itself for treating Windows Phone users like crap.
  • This
  • This x2
  • The feelings are mutual. Once upon a time I loved Google. Now it's just Apple Inc's evil twin.
  • You are correct @unstoppablekem
  • tired of the search engine and email???
     
     
    whats wrong with the search engine?? 
     
    but i do agree they have given 0 attention to WP which is a shame... 
  • Too many ads. Ever try looking for a product on Google? Good luck with that
  • agreed.. and i use ad blocker for that.. because ad's annoy me.. like everyone...
     
    but are you saying that bing doesnt display ads? just search iPhone in bing and see the ad's that you see on the right hand side...
  • +925
  • Why?? What are you missing? MS has its free email service. You have maps which works. So whats' your problem with google? I see no reason why you should "need" google? WP runs just fine without any google services. Your life will remain exactly same if you don't use any google services. 
  • X1 and moved to outlook.com
  • THIS Fact is that as yet, Google's profits from the Play Store are not threatened by WP. But WP is growing, and without solid Google apps its users are turning to non-Google services. My frustration is that Google could be making money from WP customers! How hard can it be to make a WP7/8 YouTube app that shows ads? How about a decent Maps app they can use to gather location data? There's an opportunity here for Google to actually make a buck and they're not taking it. Hell, MS will make the apps for free, if Google would just let them do it.
  • Google is still the best search engine of all....but google world will pay the price for underestimating the nokia's offer to switch over to Android previously....
  • I disagree.
  • Android fanboy ?
  • do you have a degree in predicting future?
  • Nobody I know cares about switching to Bing or WP. I still have my gripes about Bing having outdated information for companies and locations. I tried calling a restaurant and it had an old number that no longer existed. Switch to google, no issues for the number. I still use Bing when on my WP but outside that I still rely on Google for better search results.
  • This. For whatever reason bing is way better on a windows phone than online. I still do google for search even though i cannot stand that company. Everything else i use outlook hotmail skydrive etc
  • Search engines from Yahoo, Dogpile, Mahalo to Alta-Vista, Bing and especially Google/NSA will have wrong information. Google/NSA is worse because of reads and then treats your personal email as if it was addressed to THEM.
  • That may be very well true, but it doesn't take Google two years to update outdated information.
  • That's funny. I was just going to post the same thing about Google failing me on a restaurant phone number, and that Bing had the correct one. Not only that, this restaurant had only been open for 8 months, and for whatever reason had to change their phone number.
    I can't tell you why, but Bing seems to have the same results as Google, and I don't have to feel violated when I use it. That's why I use Bing, and Outlook.com
  • If you find outdated info on Bing, please update it with the correct info. The more people that use it and update it, the better it will be.
  • I did make my colleague switch to bing and outlook but still a no-no at windows phone... Naaah
  • for me, atleast, Hotmail/Outlook has PERMANENTLY replaced Gmail and Bing is all over the place instead of Google.. since the day i got my first lumia, almost 2.5 years now... and yeah, my years old yahoo mail is still what i use for outgoing mails.
  • I also have a Yahoo email account but only use Bing for all searches whether it be my PC or 920 and soon to be SP2 next Tuesday.
  • Not just you rupanidm.  My wife and I got off the google/nsa bandwagon 2 and a half years ago.
  • To be honest i think its ok to explain people what kind of sh*t Google really is
  • I agree!
    Microsoft is providing a PSA, and they get the bad press for "Attacking" Google. Not fair!
  • But it's fair that Microsoft has to code YouTube in HTML5 and that doesn't apply to Android or iOS.
  • someone had to say it!
  • Totally lol
  • What can I say ... BING IT :-)
  • I dumped Google long before this campaign, but I am happy somebody is telling the truth about Google. Americans, however, do not care. We are a dumb people and deserve to be abused by corporations.
  • How unfortunately true...
  • Google abuses everone, not just Americans. But it seems to me, because Google is an American company, it's up to the Americans public to tell them to stop. I doubt Google will care what the rest of the world has to say.
  • I say this daily... I weep for our future.
  • I think the campaign is pretty eye opening for most. People complaining about NSA privacy should probably ditched their GMail first if they are concerned at all about privacy.
  • I like my WP and I am irritated at Google for their lack of interest in the WP platform, but I am sure that will change as the global market share increases. I think this list means more to me on tech companies than an advertising campaign. https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2013
  • I just look at the Mac vs. PC ads and how the effects have lasted with my family. My sister bought a Mac  couple years after those ads and insists that it SO much better because she never has problems with it. She of course still calls me a couple times a year to troubleshoot problems just like with her PC.
    If she had a problem with her web mail before, it was Windows' fault. If she has the same problem now, it's gmails fault not her Mac. I think this is what will work out for MS. I don't particularly care for the Scroogled ads but they plant the seed of doubt in the average joe. Down the line any privacy leak will be associated with Google. I think MS knows what Apple did to them and now they are trying to do the same thing to Google.
  • I still find Google much better for technical searches.
  • I am a certified .NET developer, thus obviously I do not dislike Microsoft.   I and every other .NET developer that I know prefers to search MSDN with Google.
  • When it comes to getting my job done I put aside my fannoyism. So if I can't find an answer for a code issue through Bing, I turn to google. But honestly, at least for the past several months, I've found that if Bing can't help me, neither can Google. Its been a while since I've run into an issue that I could figure out through google and not Bing.
  • Interesting. For just about anything google seams better but if I'm looking up something that may be in Technet or anything related to networking I find Bing is better.
  • I'm an SCCM admin and find what I need with Bing. Haven't had to resort to Google for quite awhile.
  • I use to find that too, but honestly, the results have gotten so much better recently that I don't even need to resort to google anymore.
  • When people write "This", the song This by Ed Sheeran starts playing in my head.
     
    This... is... a start.. of something beautiful. lol
  • I've never been the tin foil hat type. But google has really started to creep me out. First it was their ads based on the content of your emails. Yes they claim the data is kept anonymous, and I don't want to accuse them of lying. But it still creeps me out. And now I read they plan to show your friends ads that feature your freaking face and own words. That shouldn't worry me too much since I don't user google plus, but I know other companies like Facebook will follow their lead on this. Also does anyone notice that google always covers their tracks by providing opt out settings whereas Microsoft usually asks you for permission first?
  • I think I'm going to terminate all but one Gmail of mine for YouTube, this is getting more disturbing every article I read. I use hotmail regularly.
  • Agreed. When you open a Word document on your computer that someone sent you in your email and words in that document begin to turn into hyperlinks, you know you've been scroogled. Which is why doing a basic uninstall of google chrome is not enough. You have to root that sucker from that hidden folder it puts on your computer as well. If you don't, they continue to infect your computer like a cyst.
  • I started my online life in 2008 with a google account. over the next few years i got comfortable to using google's services. But then came Windows 8 and I got an outlook account with the same @gmail.com
    Since then I must say, Microsoft's serviced are at par if not better than google's. its just that both of them have their cons. I cannot open google docs while offline and there is not a sufficently good enough substitute to it from microsoft 'online' however, in the long run, I see myself switching over to skydrive as it can open my files both online and offline and I can download whatever i want.
    Just wish there were more to Skydrive like google has provided.
  • Got my fiance to switch to Bing and a friend of mine to ditch his mac and iphone for a new windows 8 laptop and Lumia 928 he loves them
  • Google is way ahead in terms technical searches. Always forced back to using google becos of this :/
  • How can I not agree? First off, it's true. Second, it's about freakin time Microsoft got on the offensive. MSN/Live/Bing search and Hotmail/Live/Outlook is all I've used for at least eight years.
  • "Whether you agree with the tactics Microsoft is taking in its Scroogled campaign or not"
    Why shouldn't you agree, all Microsoft is doing is telling you the truth about google services and practices, that's why Google can't fight the ads, because they are true.
     
  • Hell yeah.. Ever since i started using Windows 8, i use bing and outlook. And then i never look back. My google account is only for my mobile activation thats it.
  • I was a Android fanboy up untill a year ago and would defend Google at any chance. Since using wp8 and w8 tablet Bing has become second nature and i even cringe when seeing my wife or kids use Google. Its not that Bing is better, but that it is beautiful and just works.
  • Terrible, classless ads.  Good products do this work for you without the negativity.
  • Idk, i just LOVE when google does a terrible job with its ad profiling, showing all ads as 1020s, or (false) thinking I'm a middle aged woman or something xP. (or its shows me android phone cases or iPhone cases, even though i have a 920)
  • I actually switched away from Google services, especially GMail, long before the Scroogled campaign. Privacy issues is one of them and secondly, in the case of GMail, I recently abandoned it after using it for many years (since my university days) because of the spam via tracking my actions, be it subscribing to some anti-virus or job application. Happens when I use my GMail account to to so.
  • I get in the practice of saying "I just Bing it" instead of Google it. If anyone says why Bing, I've got a million responses.
  • +1
  • I do not like google because they think they can decide for me. Still using search, but more and more moving to bing. Regarding e-mail, calendar and contacts I found MS is much better and I recommend it to everyone. Moved myself from google 6 month ago and do not miss it at all.
  • Will MS get an outlook app for windows phone? Thatsa big thing for me and ill switch from google mail as my primary email. I really hate there is no outlook app but gmail has an app.
  • Say what??
    Why do you actually need an app? Why not set up your email properly?
    Unless I'm misunderstanding you, there is no gmail app for WP either.
  • Mail app for windows phone?? Why??
  • I'd love to have it on my phone too. The Outlook mail app on W8.1 looks awesome and superior... The current mail app feels like a LITE version to me compared with it. Hoping for it with WP8.1 :D
  • I switched from Google services to Microsoft services because of Google's attitude on creating a wp app for youtube. I'm not from US. So I don't get the best of the bing services. But, I will still stick with bing because Google's attitude sucks more than that.
  • Personally, I completely left google in favour of yahoo! Yahoo uses bing's search engine but I just prefer yahoo's products and policies more than google's
  • I don't hate neither one. I use them both very frequently. I mean its never an issue when you have two search engines instead of relying on one. I just have better success with Google. But I'm on my phone more than home so Bing obviously gets used by default.
  • I changed to Bing, Outlook, I.E. and Windows phone from Google search, Gmail, Chrome and android phone .
  • At least google has shopping results....
  • Me: Do you like Apples?...... Google: Yeah Me: Well Suck my B@!!$ How do you like dem apples?
  • Haha....i have Apple id that I don't even use.
  • Microsoft had to defense themself . Google being bullying Microsoft . Youtube app ? Remember ?
  • We remember...that's why I download videos from YouTube and upload them to Vimeo
  • F**k google, use 3rd party apps and don't let them earn a single penny.
  • Die Google Dieeeeeeeee! Guck Foogle !!!
  • Let's make a movement named "Die Google"
  • Hahahah yeah that's a pretty good idea! 
  • What I don't understand, is why is MS's "campaign" always considered negative, but the "I'm a PC" ads never were?
    Why is anything MS says about google always viewed as an "attack" of some sort, but it's never viewed that way when google says something about MS?
    Double standard much?
  • Unfortunatley people still like to think of Microsoft as the same company from the late 90's to early 2000's.
  • Bing isn't all that great in Canada. In fact, it's pretty bad. A search for a company name on google returns the information I want like the address and phone number - Bing doesn't do this for me. The only Google service I use is Search. Everything else has been migrated to Microsoft.
  • Really? I'm also in Canada and just tried to look up the name of a local restaurant to test your theory.  Bing returned the restaurant's Facebook page, home page, and a couple of reviews. Google returned...well, nothing relevant.  Look up "Rabbid Fox" without the quotes and see what happens.
  • I don't know that I'd switch due to the Scroogled ad campaign, but I find it entertaining. I'm a long time user of Yahoo! and plan to continue. I started my own compare campaign among my friends and family and can't get people to even try to use Yahoo! it seems like to me.
    Google users are a lot like Apple users in this regard. They have their head buried in the sand. Do the same search on Bing, Google, and Yahoo! and you'll get very, very similar results.
    I liked the Windows Live era at Microsoft. When they came out with the name Bing that kind of did it for me. It makes a better verb than Live but it just sounds stupid. You can Bing someone or Google someone but I'll just keep using Yahoo!
  • Not much news about Google and their new "shared endorsements." They can use your picture and reviews. You have to op out, not join.  Go after that one Microsoft.
    I use Bing for almost everything except shopping, image and domain search. Bing has to get better at that.
  • So, since Google is lying, then Google is evil. Since it's evil, don't use it. Use anything that is not Google. And ...
    BING = (((BING..[infinite loop here] Is Not Google) Is Not Google) Is Not Google) Is Not Google :p
  • I lol'd on that. :D
  • Sorry but Bing is still nowhere near as good as Google, especially when you need to do a research on a topic. And these campaigns are annoying.
  • Really the way is not good, but it is true that Bing never disappointed me in the results i expected.
  • I never went to big G in the first place. Google was cute. It had free stuff. But it felt unrefined and prone to abuse. So now they sit as definitely the best mapping you can get, but that's about it for me.
  • They're both in bed with the NSA
  • While it didn't get me all riled up, but it is getting under the skin of alot of Google nut huggers on tech blogs
  • I don't mind this campaign.  It's effective and necessary.  Sad thing is these people already know whats going on - they're just in denial.  This campaign just reveals to them that there are alternatives.