Microsoft launches a $75 ‘ugly Christmas jumper’ featuring its iconic cartoon paperclip Clippy

Struggling for a gift for your geekier relatives this year? Microsoft has you covered.

The tech giant has released an ‘ugly Christmas jumper’ featuring its iconic cartoon paperclip Clippy.

Clippy was introduced as a ‘virtual office assistant’ in Microsoft Office programmes back in 1997, periodically offering advice and tutorials.

However, he received a bad reputation from users, being dubbed as distracting and irritating when the character popped up unprompted.

He was scrapped from the software in 2007, but briefly reappeared in 2019 as a sticker in Teams, and then as an as an emoji on Microsoft Office in 2021.

Now, he has been resurrected once more in the form of a cosy $75 (£65) sweatshirt that ‘Clippy may or may not have knitted’, according to Xbox Gear Shop.

While it does bear a hefty price tag, Microsoft says that all proceeds from sales will be donated to the College Success Foundation this year

Clippy (pictured) was introduced as a ‘virtual office assistant’ in Microsoft Office programmes back in 1997, periodically offering advice and tutorials 

While it does bear a fairly hefty price tag, Microsoft says that all proceeds from sales will be donated to the College Success Foundation this year.

The nonprofit helps low-income students to pursuit higher education through support services and scholarships.

Microsoft will also be making a $100,000 donation to the College Success Foundation on top of jumper sales. 

This is the fifth in a line of nostalgic knitter Microsoft releases annually, after a Windows 95-inspired Christmas jumper was debuted in 2018.

A similar one was launched in 2019 that featured the retro Windows XP logo, and in 2020 a version came out that covered in icons from Microsoft Paint.

Last year’s offering was themed around the famous Windows game Minesweeper, and features a Christmas-tree shaped version of the game.

That jumper retailed at $68.95 (£57.95), and $100,000 (£75,000) of the proceeds were donated to the AbleGamers charity.

Clippy was the default Office assistant for purchases of the software package, but users may remember some of the other available characters. 

This is the fifth in a line of Christmas jumpers that Microsoft releases annually, after a Windows 95-inspired one was debuted in 2018 (left). In 2019, a follow-up was released which featured the retro Windows XP logo (right)

In 2020 a version came out that covered in icons from Microsoft Paint (pictured)

Last year’s offering was themed around the famous Windows game Minesweeper (pictured(, and features a Christmas-tree shaped version of the game 

This includes ‘Hoverbot’ the robot, an Einstein caricature called ‘The Genius’ and the yellow dog called ‘Power Pup’.

However, Clippy’s designer Kevan Atteberry would later admit to Motherboard that ‘people f*****g hate him’, and TIME magazine named him as one of the worst inventions of all time.

The Clippy jumper can be purchased now on the Xbox Gear Shop, claiming to make you the ‘best dressed at your holiday sweater party with the best-looking paper clip on your sweater’.

It is currently only available in sizes 2XL and 3XL, and may not arrive with UK shoppers until next month.