Public Relations Timeline
| The internet's so much a part of everyday life now that surfing on the loo was the next natural step. People used to reach for a book or mag when they were on the loo but now they’ll be logging on! It’s exciting to think that the smallest room can now be the gateway to the massive virtual world. |
| —Tracy Blache, Marketing manager of MSN in April 30 Press Release |
The project was announced on April 30, 2003 in press release by MSN UK, MSN's British subsidiary, as part of a "series of MSN.co.uk initiatives which look at the changing nature of how we use the web as it constantly evolves". The press release stated that:
The UK’s most popular website msn.co.uk is creating the world’s first ‘Internet Loo’. The iLoo will be mobile and is part of MSN’s mission to allow instant logging on ‘anytime and any place’. In time for the summer festival season, MSN is in the process of converting a portable loo to create a unique experience for surfers looking for an alternative to the bog-standard festival loo experience. Users will be able to sit down, undock a wireless keyboard and conveniently access the first ever WWW.C.
The press release also stated that "MSN is also in talks with toilet paper manufacturers to produce special web paper for those in need of URL inspiration".
| MSN is really working on building a prototype for the Summer festivals, perhaps Glastonbury ... This is very much a 'toe in the water' experiment to gauge interest so we'll have to see how it goes, although judging from response so far it's really captured people's imagination! |
| —Ben Philipson, Red Consultancy, in response to AP query |
News of the iLoo was widely circulated amongst mainstream media. The story became the most-emailed story on Yahoo! News on May 1, 2003, being emailed over 4000 times. The iLoo was widely derided and press coverage subjected MSN and Microsoft to heavy criticism. On May 10, The Inquirer published a story in which Andrew Cubitt alleged that "Microsoft stole his iLoo idea" from his i-Loo invention. On May 12, Microsoft announced that the iLoo was a "hoax perpetrated by its British division" calling it an "April Fool's joke" and issued an apology for the confusion. The Associated Press, however, stated that they had previously received confirmation of the project from two of Microsoft's PR firms: Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and Red Consultancy. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also stated that it received confirmation from Waggener Edstrom and was even provided with a schematic drawing. Furthermore, April Fools was almost a month before, and Microsoft had never before released a fake press release.
Oh May 13, 2003, Microsoft retracted the denial, stating that the iLoo had been a legitimate demonstration project that was to be released in Britain for summer music festivals, but had been terminated by Microsoft executives in Redmond, Washington who believed the iLoo was inappropriate with the final decision made by MSN senior vice president David Cole. MSN product manager Lisa Gurry stated that the project "didn't really map to our global branding objectives". Microsoft again apologized for the miscommunication stating "the confusion over the legitimacy of this effort was caused by people moving too quickly and who misspoke before gathering all of the relevant information". Prior to the cancellation, an iLoo prototype was in the "early stages of construction". MSN allows regional units to design their own marketing campaigns, and the UK division had developed a reputation for innovative campaigns, in this case involving British toilet humour. The iLoo which was designed for the UK as part of a "tongue-in-cheek marketing initiative" was "intended to be the next in line of a number of clever initiatives in the UK involving introducing the internet in interesting locations, including MSN Street, MSN Park Bench and MSN Deckchair". The previous initiatives were well received. Microsoft stated that no employees were disciplined as a result of the debacle, although the company stated that it would conduct "internal discussions".
Read more about this topic: ILoo
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