Clippy is the star of Microsoft’s newest ugly sweater

Clippy has returned this 12 months to seem on Microsoft’s newest ugly sweater. The Microsoft Office assistant that was each hated and beloved is the newest in a sequence of Windows-themed ugly sweaters from Microsoft and shall be out there from the corporate’s Xbox Gear Shop today, priced at $74.99.

That’s fairly the worth to pay to unfold some vacation cheer, however all proceeds shall be donated to the College Success Foundation this 12 months, alongside a $100,000 donation from Microsoft.

This is Microsoft’s fifth 12 months of Windows-themed ugly sweaters and the third 12 months the corporate has been promoting them to most people. “It started back in 2017, we had posted three made-up sweaters and said ‘which ugly sweater would you wear this year?’ and it was our best performing post for the entire year,” says Megan Muehleman, senior social media supervisor at Microsoft, in an interview with The Verge. “People went nuts, and they were like ‘please make these! please make these!’”

So Microsoft began making them a 12 months later in 2018 with the introduction of the Windows 95 ugly sweater. Initially, 100 have been made at hand out to influencers, press, and Windows followers as a model and advertising train. After making a gift of the Windows 95 and Windows XP sweaters, Microsoft began promoting a Paint-inspired ugly sweater in 2020 adopted by a Minesweeper one final 12 months.

“Our fans really crave and love Windows nostalgia,” says Muehleman “It’s always popular on our channels because we are one of the only 30-plus-year tech brands, so people have grown up with us.”

“Clippy has always been in the back of our heads. We’ve always discussed it every single year,” says Muehleman. “It was just always never the right time.” After a resurgence in Clippy utilization inside Microsoft, the speaking paperclip is now on an unsightly sweater you’ll be able to put on across the dinner desk at Thanksgiving or on Christmas Day.