Saturday, July 07, 2007
Google's Ad Strategy Is Quite Sicko
Google is trying to drum up some ad revenue the old fashioned way. Google has a health advertising blog where they pitch to the people who want to prevent Americans from getting Universal Health Care. Google encourages them to spread their bullshit through their network.
The healthcare industry is no stranger to negative press. A drug may be a blockbuster one day and tolled as a public health concern the next. News reporters may focus on Pharma’s annual sales and its executives’ salaries while failing to share R&D costs. Or, as is often common, the media may use an isolated, heartbreaking, or sensationalist story to paint a picture of healthcare as a whole. With all the coverage, it’s a shame no one focuses on the industry’s numerous prescription programs, charity services, and philanthropy efforts.
Many of our clients face these issues; companies come to us hoping we can help them better manage their reputations through “Get the Facts” or issue management campaigns. Your brand or corporate site may already have these informational assets, but can users easily find them?
We can place text ads, video ads, and rich media ads in paid search results or in relevant websites within our ever-expanding content network. Whatever the problem, Google can act as a platform for educating the public and promoting your message. We help you connect your company’s assets while helping users find the information they seek.
There is a substantial difference between accepting ads from all comers, hopefully after vetting them for a modicum of accuracy, and the effort Google is making here to profit off disinformation by seeking out that crucial let's pretend people in Canada have to wait 15 months for a pregnancy delivery target group.
This is just business as usual. An editor from Harpers recently went undercover pretending he was trying to get some PR for the repressive regime in Turkmenistan, and PR companies fell over backwards trying to win the contract to make a police state warm and fuzzy looking. The sad truth is that journalism critics were upset that this Harper's journalist deceived the ad companies.
I have removed google ads from this page in response to this way they do business. Let your conscience guide you. I am a free speech kind of fellow, but Google is crossing my boundaries when they actively seek out revenue from keeping Americans uninsured rather than just accepting these ads as they come in as a good business decision.
Sicko huh?
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