UKNM: Hotmail

[manou]

Freddy;


When Microsoft bought Hotmail for a zillion dollars during XMas '98, it

wasn't so Bill could have his own free Web-based email account.  They

wanted the users to 1) flog Microsoft products to, 2) say they have the

World's largest Web-based email service, 3) direct users to the MSN

community, 4) make $$$$ from ad sales.


We knew that sooner or later the Microsoft/Hotmail monster was going to

raise its ugly head in Europe, attempt to bully or gobble-up similar UK and

European companies (buy 'em or stomp on 'em) and flex American muscles.  I

though it would be in July or August...well...if you read the Evening

Standard yesterday, you must have seen the super duper big Hotmail ad...


Now, we all can conclude that 'hotmail' can also be confused for 'hotMALE',

so in a fit of paranoia by Microsoft, the ad showed a close to naked babe

posing suggestively with the caption: 'the_web_babe@hotmail'...hmmmm...yes,

sex does sell, and sell well, especially on the 'net...but for email???  I

showed the ad to me mum and sister...they thought it was a cybersex

service...basically, the ad was quite insulting to women.


Using sex to sell a service is nothing new in the states, I wonder how it

will go over here.  Obviously the target of the ad is the 18-35 year old

bloke (the ad was in the footie section...obviously)...my problem is that

we have excellent homegrown Internet services...should we succumb to this

American BS or should we band together and fight back...but how???


Manou Marzban

BiblioTech