While the addition of advertisements in its products has always been accompanied by a very poor reception by users, Microsoft still continues to give it a try by displaying promotional messages this time within its Office suite. This time, users are called upon to sign up for a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Microsoft and advertising is a long and conflicted love affair. On several occasions, the Redmond firm has tried to get its users to accept the thing – with, each time, a mixed success to say the least. We remember in particular the particularly annoying popup in the search bar of Windows 10 which encouraged us to download Edge, at a time when the browser was still dragging the pans of its predecessor.
This year, Microsoft went even further by adding ads within File Explorer itself before backtracking in the face of public (and understandable) outcry from users. Never mind, the editor has not said his last word. For the past few days, many have been reporting that their Office suite is in turn starting to offer advertising.
Microsoft persists and signs with advertising in its software
Even if you’d be interested in a promotion of nearly $28 to sign up for a Microsoft 365 subscription, chances are you’re not very keen on Microsoft notifying you when you open Word. However, this is the solution for which the firm has opted, which is moreover in a relatively underhanded way. Indeed, the advertising banner has the same appearance as the Office alert banner to activate certain features.
Related — Microsoft is already advertising Windows 11 in Windows 10
Microsoft even offers several versions of its advertising. In another, the company indicates that “For just $0.99, get 3 months of Microsoft 365 Family and share it with up to 5 people. It’s like getting six subscriptions in one. » This is not the first time that the Office suite has served as an advertising medium for Microsoft. Last March, Edge was also entitled to its ad in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.