Microsoft Takes a Jab at Google With Nosy 'Gmail Man'

At the annual Microsoft Global Exchange sales conference held on July 20, there may have been some major number crunching, but looking at what was served in the ‘entertainment break’, it looks like Microsoft does have a sense of humour, after all... though snide.

Meet the Gmail Man!

Just as the conference wrapped up, a video parodying Gmail and its 'snooping’ ways was played for the present audience. The video is of 'Gmail man'  who reads everyone's mails before delivering them. The idea is to search for keywords so he can deliver them 'appropriate' ads. The video was leaked to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley by one of the attendees at the conference, and Microsoft, on being asked if they were indeed behind the creation of this video, responded with a big fat "No comment". 

The approximately 3 minute long video shows the Gmail man off on his routine business – reading, oops!skimming through the mails of the users, looking for keywords to place ads in specific mails. The Gmail man is shown being ridiculed by a young passerby first and then by an office worker, who seems completely unimpressed by the Gmail man’s antics. Oh wait! You obviously can't miss the words Contoso Ltd. embossed on the door, opening which the Gmail Man walks inside the plush office. Contoso is Microsoft's famous alias it uses generally for product demos. Need we say anything?

Hard talking..

The video is full of catchy, controversial lines like – “Well, sometimes when a person really loves their gmail very, very much, the two get together, and an ad is born.”, “His favorite game is peekaboo. His favorite words, “so what?” He smiles in your face when you stutter, “but, but, but…”, and finally “Your email is your business, Google makes it theirs.” 

The video (below), now on YouTube, too has 73,325 views, on the last count.