Do You Need an Email Intervention? A Look At The Goofy Email Wars

Posted by in Technology


Image via CrunchBase
It's Google vs. Microsoft in the goofy email ad contest.

The ongoing battle between Google and Microsoft is nothing new. But, it has taken a much more humorous turn earlier this week. It all started when Google unveiled their new advertising campaign called "Email Intervention". The ads were created by some of the people on the Gmail team, and they encourage tech-savvy Gmail users to get their friends who are stuck in the past to switch to Gmail in order to be cooler.

Of course, geeks and people who work in the tech industry are all too familiar with those friends and family members who still think that their Hotmail, Yahoo or AOL email addresses are perfectly fine. Convincing them to switch and take advantage of the perks that Gmail can offer can be a challenge. For those friends, Google now offers a letter you can personalize and send to them to inform them that it's time for a change. Here's a look at the video explaining it all:


When you start the intervention, you can select from three different approaches. There is the straightforward message that lets the recipient know that you are there to help. Then, there is the concerned approach that shares your concern for your friends well being and, the last one is the outraged approach, where you can let your friend know how much they are embarrassing you. You can even record your own video to include in the email so that you can tell them how you really feel.

Of course, Microsoft didn't take this slight lying down. According to Zdnet, this video was created to be played at a sales conference, but was uploaded to YouTube. Although Microsoft hasn't confirmed that they were the creators of the video, it seems a little fishy if they weren't.

The video shows the Gmail man traveling around opening everyone's email and reading them in order to find keywords and deliver ads. My favorite part is when the Gmail Man explains what happens when a user loves their Gmail very much. Take a look:


These ads are really funny, but they still get the message across. According to Google, there were 100,000 interventions in the first 24 hours. Not only that, but the Gmail man video does reignite concerns about privacy and could discourage some people from using the Gmail service, especially those who are not as tech oriented and are hesitant adapters in the first place.

I can't wait to see if Yahoo decides to respond. But, for now, at least with Google and Microsoft, the email war is on.

What do you think about these videos? Are you a Gmail user? If yes, why? If not, why not?

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.


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