Hotmail girls

The infamous "Hotmail girls"!

In the early 2000s, Hotmail, a popular free web-based email service, was acquired by Microsoft. As part of the acquisition, the company's founders, Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith, left the company. The new management team, led by Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer, decided to revamp the brand and create a new marketing campaign.

The "Hotmail girls" campaign, launched in 2001, featured a series of ads featuring attractive young women, often in provocative poses, with the tagline "Get your free email at Hotmail." The ads were designed to appeal to a younger demographic and create a more playful, lighthearted image for the brand.

The campaign was widely criticized for its objectification of women and its perceived lack of professionalism. Many people felt that the ads were sexist and demeaning, and that they undermined the credibility of the Hotmail brand.

Despite the controversy, the campaign was successful in terms of generating buzz and increasing brand awareness. However, it also led to a backlash, with many people boycotting the service and criticizing Microsoft for its perceived sexism.

In the end, the "Hotmail girls" campaign was discontinued, and the brand shifted its focus to more professional and family-friendly marketing efforts. Today, Hotmail is no longer a standalone brand, having been rebranded as Outlook.com in 2012.