Comments on: Another Ask Commercial: Better, But That’s Not Saying Much

By: This Week In SEO - 6/22/07 - TheVanBlog

This Week In SEO - 6/22/07 - TheVanBlog — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:30:23 +0000

[...] Another Ask Commercial: Better, But Thatâ€™s Not Saying Much [...]

By: Gavin

Gavin — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 09:53:38 +0000

They are showing the below advert over here in Europe, a lot better than the above video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQTc2O8dlw

By: Trickster

Trickster — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:43:12 +0000

Hasn’t Ask.com now made the most TV commercials out of all the major search engines? Yet they remain last? I’ve seen Yahoo commercials but it’s been awhile and the only MSN commercial was that “follow the butterfly” one from back in the day.

And has Google ever had a TV commercial? Or even any kind of traditional mass advertising?

I still think Ask should spend their money working on “The Algorithm” so that it does provide noticeably more reliable and relevant results consistently than the other major search engines for the average Internet user instead of producing more lame commercials.

I put together all of the search engine TV commercials including the old Ask ads (before they booted Jeeves!) on my blog last year if anybody is interested – http://www.seotrickster.com/search-engine-commercials/

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:33:43 +0000

@Chuck – fair enough, but these are still obscure search terms (popular right now, but not mainstream), which casts Ask.com as the search engine for obscure terms. I’m pretty sure the people using Google do so because they trust Google to find results for mainstream terms.

I guess we’re all subjective, the real test will be if Ask can improve its audience share from running the ads.

By: Chuck Olsen

Chuck Olsen — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:29:52 +0000

Andy, I think you missed my point. People *do* search for weird obscure things, thus “cats that looks like hitler” is a top search result. These ads are playing to what people really search for, but in a cartoonish/stylized way.

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:12:25 +0000

@Chuck – true, but why make ads that appeal to those that search for the obscure? It just seems like Ask is trying to be too clever.

By: Jordan McCollum

Jordan McCollum — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:48:28 +0000

Yes, Jeff, that was exactly what I meant. And it is a continuation of “Chicks with swords” because it is objectifying the opposite sex. It’s just the opposite opposite sex of last time.

By: Chuck Olsen

Chuck Olsen — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:45:35 +0000

I think there are some legitimate criticisms to be made of these commercials, but it also smells a bit elitist to me. Take a look at Google Hot Trends. "cats that look like hitler" is a #4 search. People search for funny, weird crap. These ads play to that, while poking fun at it (and yes, us) at the same time.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:22:54 +0000

Sorry, but I have to call bullshit on this one – Kato (a man, despite his hair) is the one being objectified. Unless that was your point (and I don’t think that it was since you described Ask.com as “still objectifying the opposite sex” – which means a continuation of what they’ve been up to, i.e.: “Chicks with swords”). And yes, while it weird, it also makes a great point, namely that Ask.com can help you find the weird, the bizarre, and yes, even the unpopular/long-since-over-it/my-god-who-would-want-this-stuff in mass quantities, no less.

Quizno’s took a similar approach with their (gross) dead, singing hamsters and it worked like a charm; I think Ask.com is getting what they’re looking for with their off-color, offbeat ad campaign: word-of-mouth.

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:04:15 +0000

Yikes! – maybe CB+P is going for the “so bad, you can’t help talking about it” angle – at least I hope that’s their intent.

By: Janet Driscoll Miller

Janet Driscoll Miller — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:37:54 +0000

I’m not sure what Ask is trying to convey here… we provide the most relevant results on obscure searches like “chicks with swords” and “Kato Kaelin”? Well, Yippeee!!!