Clippy Campaign: Difference between revisions

Line 1:

In August 2025, YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] started a movement (tentatively named the '''Clippy Campaign'''), a grassroots [[wikipedia:Solidarity|solidarity]] visibility campaign wherein participants changed their profile pictures on social media platforms in protest of unethical practices by corporations. Users changed their profile pictures to a "Clippy", referring to an image the 'Clippit' avatar of [[wikipedia:Office_Assistant|Office Assistant]] as seen in Microsoft Office from 2000 to 2003. YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to change their profile pictures on as many platforms as possible to a "Clippy" (officially, the 'Clippit' avatar of ). Rossmann elaborated on the meaning of the movement in a follow-up video titled [https://youtu.be/SkL9vzW7nY0 You Changed Your Profile to Clippy: Now What? 📎📎📎].

In August 2025, YouTuber [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]] started a movement (tentatively named the '''Clippy Campaign'''), a grassroots [[wikipedia:Solidarity|solidarity]] visibility campaign wherein participants changed their profile pictures on social media platforms in protest of unethical practices by corporations. Users changed their profile pictures to a "Clippy", referring to an image of the "Clippit" avatar of [[wikipedia:Office_Assistant|Office Assistant]] as seen in Microsoft Office from 2000 to 2003.

==How it ~~Works~~==

==How it works==

On August 7, 2025, YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to stand up against unethical practices of technology corporations (and companies in other industries) which violated consumer rights or otherwise proved detrimental to their paying customers. In the video, he suggested that members who join the movement could change their profile pictures on YouTube and other platforms to a Clippy, on the grounds that such an avatar was a fitting symbol, that avatars with a common theme would help participants recognize each other, and that the collective usage of the avatar in great numbers would raise questions among others and potentially draw attention to the movement.

On August 7, 2025, YouTuber Louis Rossmann uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to stand up against unethical practices of technology corporations (and companies in other industries) which violated consumer rights or otherwise proved detrimental to their paying customers. In the video, he suggested that members who join the movement could change their profile pictures on YouTube and other platforms to a Clippy, on the grounds that such an avatar was a fitting symbol, that avatars with a common theme would help participants recognize each other, and that the collective usage of the avatar in great numbers would raise questions among others and potentially draw attention to the movement.

Rossmann later uploaded a follow-up video titled "[https://~~www~~.~~youtube.com~~/~~watch~~?~~v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious~~]" to elaborate on the meaning of the movement for participants and outsiders, and to call participants to action, offering ways ~~that~~ they ~~can~~ actively contribute to creating effective results that counteract the exploitative and dishonest business practices they are protesting. Rossmann stated in the video that the act of changing one's profile picture is not the goal of the movement, but a prerequisite for realizing bigger changes; it serves as a simple task that gets users invested in the movement and increases its visibility, so that even if a participant is not able to effectuate much change on their own, they can make people who are capable of more tangible influence aware of the movement and ~~receive~~ their assistance.

Rossmann later uploaded a follow-up video titled "[https://youtu.be/SkL9vzW7nY0 You Changed Your Profile to Clippy: Now What? 📎📎📎]" to elaborate on the meaning of the movement for participants and outsiders, and to call participants to action, offering ways in which they could actively contribute to creating effective results that could counteract or make conspicuous the exploitative and dishonest business practices they are protesting. Rossmann stated in the video that the act of changing one's profile picture is not the goal of the movement, but a prerequisite for realizing bigger changes; it serves as a simple task that gets users invested in the movement and increases its visibility, so that even if a participant is not able to effectuate much change on their own, they can make people who are capable of more tangible influence aware of the movement and, utilize their assistance.

The campaign~~'s scope~~ intersects with the general resistance to anti-ownership practices by companies that have become more common throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, such as denying paying customers the [[right to repair]] the products that they had purchased.

The scope of the campaign intersects with the general resistance to anti-ownership practices by companies that have become more common throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, such as denying paying customers the [[right to repair]] the products that they had purchased.

==Why Clippy==

===Clippy As a ~~Symbol~~ of ~~Escalating Overreach~~===

===Clippy as a symbol of escalating overreach===

Rossman uses Clippy to show how technology used to work purely for its intended purpose, in contrast to [[Dark pattern|dark patterns]] that are now widespread.

[https://youtu.be/2_Dtmpe9qaQ?t=68 Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious 1:08]<blockquote>Whether or not you like Clippy, [...] the one thing that you could say, unlike Facebook who is trying to profit off of young girls that feel suicidal, Clippy simply wanted to help.

Line 23:

Clippy wouldn't even read the contents of your letter.</blockquote>

===~~The~~ Impact ~~of Clippy Avatars~~===

===Impact===

Rossman hopes that the group awareness created by the campaign will allow people to take action more quickly, due to already knowing that others around them are in alignment. Already it has been seen that many users on YouTube and other social media sites have taken part in the campaign. Some are even taking action to further spread word of the movement in hopes it will eventually get the attention of legislation, tech companies, etc. {{Citation needed}}

Line 56:

<blockquote>Clippy just wanted to help.</blockquote>

==~~Clippy Images~~==

==Gallery==

File:PicoCADClippy.png|A CC-0 (public domain) 3D model based on Clippy

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-In August 2025, YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] started a movement (tentatively named the '''Clippy Campaign'''), a grassroots [[wikipedia:Solidarity|solidarity]] visibility campaign wherein participants changed their profile pictures on social media platforms in protest of unethical practices by corporations. Users changed their profile pictures to a "Clippy", referring to an image the 'Clippit' avatar of [[wikipedia:Office_Assistant|Office Assistant]] as seen in Microsoft Office from 2000 to 2003. YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to change their profile pictures on as many platforms as possible to a "Clippy" (officially, the 'Clippit' avatar of ). Rossmann elaborated on the meaning of the movement in a follow-up video titled [https://youtu.be/SkL9vzW7nY0 You Changed Your Profile to Clippy: Now What? 📎📎📎].
+In August 2025, YouTuber [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]] started a movement (tentatively named the '''Clippy Campaign'''), a grassroots [[wikipedia:Solidarity|solidarity]] visibility campaign wherein participants changed their profile pictures on social media platforms in protest of unethical practices by corporations. Users changed their profile pictures to a "Clippy", referring to an image of the "Clippit" avatar of [[wikipedia:Office_Assistant|Office Assistant]] as seen in Microsoft Office from 2000 to 2003.
-==How it Works==
+==How it works==
-On August 7, 2025, YouTuber [[Louis Rossmann]] uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to stand up against unethical practices of technology corporations (and companies in other industries) which violated consumer rights or otherwise proved detrimental to their paying customers. In the video, he suggested that members who join the movement could change their profile pictures on YouTube and other platforms to a Clippy, on the grounds that such an avatar was a fitting symbol, that avatars with a common theme would help participants recognize each other, and that the collective usage of the avatar in great numbers would raise questions among others and potentially draw attention to the movement.
+On August 7, 2025, YouTuber Louis Rossmann uploaded a video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" and encouraged his viewers to stand up against unethical practices of technology corporations (and companies in other industries) which violated consumer rights or otherwise proved detrimental to their paying customers. In the video, he suggested that members who join the movement could change their profile pictures on YouTube and other platforms to a Clippy, on the grounds that such an avatar was a fitting symbol, that avatars with a common theme would help participants recognize each other, and that the collective usage of the avatar in great numbers would raise questions among others and potentially draw attention to the movement.
-Rossmann later uploaded a follow-up video titled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious]" to elaborate on the meaning of the movement for participants and outsiders, and to call participants to action, offering ways that they can actively contribute to creating effective results that counteract the exploitative and dishonest business practices they are protesting. Rossmann stated in the video that the act of changing one's profile picture is not the goal of the movement, but a prerequisite for realizing bigger changes; it serves as a simple task that gets users invested in the movement and increases its visibility, so that even if a participant is not able to effectuate much change on their own, they can make people who are capable of more tangible influence aware of the movement and receive their assistance.
+Rossmann later uploaded a follow-up video titled "[https://youtu.be/SkL9vzW7nY0 You Changed Your Profile to Clippy: Now What? 📎📎📎]" to elaborate on the meaning of the movement for participants and outsiders, and to call participants to action, offering ways in which they could actively contribute to creating effective results that could counteract or make conspicuous the exploitative and dishonest business practices they are protesting. Rossmann stated in the video that the act of changing one's profile picture is not the goal of the movement, but a prerequisite for realizing bigger changes; it serves as a simple task that gets users invested in the movement and increases its visibility, so that even if a participant is not able to effectuate much change on their own, they can make people who are capable of more tangible influence aware of the movement and, utilize their assistance.
-The campaign's scope intersects with the general resistance to anti-ownership practices by companies that have become more common throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, such as denying paying customers the [[right to repair]] the products that they had purchased.
+The scope of the campaign intersects with the general resistance to anti-ownership practices by companies that have become more common throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, such as denying paying customers the [[right to repair]] the products that they had purchased.
 ==Why Clippy==
-===Clippy As a Symbol of Escalating Overreach===
+===Clippy as a symbol of escalating overreach===
 Rossman uses Clippy to show how technology used to work purely for its intended purpose, in contrast to [[Dark pattern|dark patterns]] that are now widespread.
 [https://youtu.be/2_Dtmpe9qaQ?t=68 Change your profile picture to clippy. I'm serious 1:08]<blockquote>Whether or not you like Clippy, [...] the one thing that you could say, unlike Facebook who is trying to profit off of young girls that feel suicidal, Clippy simply wanted to help.
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 Clippy wouldn't even read the contents of your letter.</blockquote>
-===The Impact of Clippy Avatars===
+===Impact===
 Rossman hopes that the group awareness created by the campaign will allow people to take action more quickly, due to already knowing that others around them are in alignment. Already it has been seen that many users on YouTube and other social media sites have taken part in the campaign. Some are even taking action to further spread word of the movement in hopes it will eventually get the attention of legislation, tech companies, etc. {{Citation needed}}
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 <blockquote>Clippy just wanted to help.</blockquote>
-==Clippy Images==
+==Gallery==
 <gallery>
 File:PicoCADClippy.png|A CC-0 (public domain) 3D model based on Clippy