Microsoft Pulls Out Of Family Guy Partnership

With an eye on avoiding any adverse impact on its brand image, Microsoft has withdrawn its sponsorship of a controversial US cartoon series Family Guy, citing the show’s allegedly offensive content as the reason behind its move. 

The cartoon series is known for its rather sharp (or crude) humour and has often received criticism on account of its risky jokes on variety of subjects ranging from deaf people to feminine hygiene.

At times, the edgy humour of the show had managed to offend the sensibilities of many people and it appears that Microsoft would like to play safe and not expose itself to any negative brand associations. 

Explaining the rationale behind its move, the software giant in a statement mentioned "We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on creative humour of Family Guy. But after reviewing an early version of the show, it became clear; the content was not a fit with the Windows brand".

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The move from Microsoft also highlights the degree of attention that Redmond is paying to intricate details of its marketing and branding promotions in light of the launch of Windows 7 on which the software giant is banking heavily for its future growth.