search-related advertising

The Super Bowl is practically a national holiday – a record-shattering 106.5 million people tuning in this year, according to some guy named Nielsen, to watch the New Orleans Saints create NFL history. Over the years, there are just as many people who tune for the big game as they do for the commercials. So it came as no surprise that Google finally took advantage of the exposure and ran their first Super Bowl ad on Sunday.

Google’s Super Bowl XLIV ad, appropriately named “Parisian Love”, ran during the third quarter and featured a ‘love story’ highlighting Google’s local search offerings by showing viewers search results. The commercial began with a search for “study abroad paris france” and follows the user through a basic search. The subsequent searches walk the viewer through this user’s life and demonstrates how Google can actually have an effect on everyday life. Google’s very own Eric Schmidt tweeted up some hype for their debut, stating quite appropriately that "hell has indeed frozen over". Watch all 53 seconds of Google's Super Bowl XLIV ad again below: Read more »

There are prophecies written in almost every ancient culture of an epic change for humanity coming in 2012, from the Mayan and the Bible to the I Ching and the real Merlin. There are alarmist theories of Earth’s polarity shifting, cataclysmic natural disasters destroying coastlines and the map of Earth changing yet again. There are also more positive outlooks for this change in 2012. There are theories of humanity’s “third eye” opening and we will be more in tune with our planet, ourselves, and our minds, causing a perspective shift in how we function as a species. Whichever way you like to tickle your 2012 theoretical fancy, there may be a new wave of information coming to your computer screen soon.

Columbia Pictures is releasing the new Roland Emmerich disaster epic, “2012” this summer, and is using a unique marketing approach in its upcoming campaign. Instead of opting into the popular and trendy $2.7 billion Super Bowl ad, the sony-owned studio is hyping the film in an online campaign, run with the help of Google’s search engine. Read more »

Microsoft pulls out over Google to be the default search engine for Verizon wireless handsets, ending the bloody battle to win advertising revenue from what is anticipated to be the largest U.S. cellular subscriber base. It was one of those fierce competitions that even a software giant like Microsoft was considered an underdog. But at the end of this showdown, unlike last night’s BCS National Championship Game, the underdog won.

Microsoft signed a five-year deal with Verizon that starts in the first half of 2009. Microsoft will provide the on-deck portal, as well as the local and internet search engine on the handsets of Verizon’s nearly 70 million customers. Microsoft will also provide mobile-advertising services on behalf of Verizon. The company announced the deal on the eve of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (pictured here) took the stage for the show’s first keynote. This is a huge move for both Microsoft and Verizon, which is estimated that carriers pocket 60% to 70% of the advertising dollars and the software giant spiked the proverbial punch with revenue-sharing incentives. Read more »