The phrase “animated gif” instantly triggers memories of the mid 1990s: dancing baby, MC Hammer, spinning Earth, flaming line – all created in times when there were a lot of controversies about them. Rolling, winking, flashing and bouncing smileys (and other imagery) definitely could harm your clickability rates and result in mass unsubscriptions. However, 15 years later most of us have finally learned what an attractive email animation is. So, who said emails have to be static?

Well supported by most email clients (except for Outlook 2007 – to be dealt with below), with no major display problems, unlike flash animations, they will certainly add attractiveness and class to your email campaign. However, they can do more harm than good, if misused, so don’t get carried away yet. Here’s an exhaustive review of all the creative and technical constraints that will help you make your gifs work for you and not against you.

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