I’m not always a fan of corporate fads — like when brands’ Twitter accounts have a “relationship”or when companies throw disgusting April Fools’ pranks — but I love Microsoft’s annual tradition of releasing ugly retro sweaters. They have window patterns printed on them. Two years ago, the templates were in the style of MS Paint and the Windows logo. Last year’s template paid homage to Minesweeper from the Windows 3.1 era. And this year, an old nemesis returns: Clippy.
Although his days as the ubiquitous Microsoft Office mascot ended when Office 2007 was released, Clippy found a second life as the Windows 11 version of the paperclip emoji. his status as a copyrighted character.
Clippy is the hero of the new sweaters, but there are other little bits of Office and Windows style too – an old-school Windows logo on the back, an Office ruler on the top, a few formatting buttons on the sleeves, and cascading stacks of paper throughout.
The Clippy Sweater is available in sizes from small to 3XL and costs $75 no matter which size you purchase. It’s a little pricey, but unlike many ugly sweaters, the Clippy looks like a real knitted sweater, not a hoodie with a pattern printed on it. As part of its ad campaign for the sweater, Microsoft also says it will donate $100,000 to the College Success Fund.
There’s no word on whether we can expect sweaters in honor of many other Microsoft Office Assistant designs, such as a red dot, an Einstein-looking guy, or a little robot. Rover, Microsoft’s Bob’s yellow dog, and Windows XP’s search dialog are also missing.