Valleywag
Ask's campaign in the UK — the also-ran search engine paid for fliers and underground ads challenging Google's "information monopoly" — has been an embarrassment for the IAC company. The guerrilla style of the creative, work of the Fallon agency, is meant to be tongue-in-cheek; but, because Ask's role as sponsor was disguised, the attack on Google simply looks sneaky. The latest setback: inspired by a consumer backlash, most notably on a forum which Ask had hoped would debate Mountain View's power, the Wall Street Journal devotes today's advertising column to Ask missteps. This is probably discouraging for any marketers planning to take on Google; but it shouldn't be. Negative campaigns, in business as in politics can be highly effective. But they only work if wavering consumers are clear what they would be switching to. Which, in Ask's case, they aren't. Later, today, the campaign that Ask should run.
Attacking Google
Ask's campaign in the UK — the also-ran search engine paid for fliers and underground ads challenging Google's "information monopoly" — has been an embarrassment for the IAC company. The guerrilla style of the creative, work of the Fallon agency, is meant to be tongue-in-cheek; but, because Ask's role as sponsor was disguised, the attack on Google simply looks sneaky. The latest setback: inspired by a consumer backlash, most notably on a forum which Ask had hoped would debate Mountain View's power, the Wall Street Journal devotes today's advertising column to Ask missteps. This is probably discouraging for any marketers planning to take on Google; but it shouldn't be. Negative campaigns, in business as in politics can be highly effective. But they only work if wavering consumers are clear what they would be switching to. Which, in Ask's case, they aren't. Later, today, the campaign that Ask should run.
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9:41 AM on Thu Apr 5 2007
By Nick Denton
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2 comments
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Ask is doing a good job with its search results, based my analysis over the last six month. With that said, I still use google about 98% of the time and see no reason to change yet. I go to ask when I'm searching for something that I feel should be there, but its not. I'll do a bunch of googling, and if no results I'll go to ask and very often ASK will give me what I want. But out of habit I start with Google. But all is not rose's with google in my experience it seems that google can be easily manipulated by the SEO people. One of my sites was at the top of google for five years, and then it got pushed to page two, by sites that weren't even real players in that space.
My unanswered question is whether ASK could be manipulated also. If ask starts getting more popular then the "SEO" people will start doing there black magic at ASK, or is ask saying that the new algorithm fix's that?
Ask.com has a series of really stupid/offensive ads going on these days. From using a terrorist/murderer in their ad campaign, to astroturfing, they're really getting beat up by everyone.
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