In Word 2002 (released with Office XP in 2001), Microsoft seized the anti-Clippy mania by the horns and turned it into a marketing tool. Their marketing message: The ease of use in Word 2002 rendered Clippy obsolete.
Microsoft created Clippy's personal Web site featuring humorous videos of Clippy--voiced by comedian Gilbert Gottfried--that extolled the virtues of Office XP (and promised to "put Clippy's skinny metal butt in the digital dustbin"). In Clippy's stead, Microsoft introduced task panes--menus that stretched down the right side of the screen--to help users in a much less intrusive and annoying fashion.















