Ad Recession Takes Bite Out of Google Revenue

But First-Quarter Total of $5.51 Billion Was Up 6% Year Over Year
by Abbey Klaassen

The recession has hit Google, handing the company its first quarter-over-quarter decline in ad revenue, as marketers cut their search-advertising budgets after the holiday season. But while its first-quarter revenue of $5.51 billion was down 3% compared with the fourth quarter, it was up 6% year over year.

And the slowdown in ads didn’t hurt the company’s profitability: Google reported net income of $1.42 billion, or $4.49 a share, in the first quarter, up 8.9% from the same period a year ago.

Funny Microsoft Parody Ads Hit Web

Supposedly…

Is this the best we can do with the most recent Microsoft campaign, America? C’mon, ad community. Step up.

Why Free-Ride YouTube Is Finally Winning Ad Dollars

Ford Motor Co.’s much-heralded social-media campaign to introduce the Ford Fiesta to young people shows just how deeply embedded YouTube has become in the strategies of even the straightest-laced marketers. But it is also an example of why it is such a tough business for Google.

The Ford campaign, which will have 100 social-media influencers upload their exploits with the car to the “Fiesta Movement” channel, includes no corresponding media buy. Ford is, in effect, using YouTube as the core of its marketing plan but not paying Google a penny for the privilege. The nation’s biggest marketers, from Geico to Samsung to Unilever to Barack Obama, have embraced the service and routinely seed it with videos.

Powerade for False Advertising

Says Coke Brand’s Campaign Misleads Consumers Into Thinking Pepsi Beverage Is ‘Incomplete’

PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand today filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola’s Powerade, alleging false advertising, trademark dilution, deceptive acts and practices, injury to business reputation, and unfair competition. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, takes Powerade to task for its new advertising campaign, first reported by Advertising Age.

In its suit, Gatorade asserts that the campaign misleads consumers and overstates the product benefits of its Powerade Ion4. The campaign positions Powerade’s newly reformulated drink as the “complete sports drink.” Billboards, digital efforts and an ESPN cover, which was criticized by ASME, picture half of a Gatorade bottle with the text “Don’t settle for an incomplete sports drink.”

Powerade is seeking to set itself apart by touting its drink as containing four electrolytes — sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium — while Gatorade’s formula contains just two electrolytes, sodium and potassium. Gatorade’s suit takes issue with Powerade’s positioning, noting the “miniscule” amounts of calcium and magnesium that are part of the new formulation. “There is no evidence that the minute quantities of magnesium and calcium present in Powerade Ion4 make it superior to Gatorade in any way,” the complaint states.

‘No evidence’ of Powerade’s claims
“As the category leader, we have a responsibility to ensure consumers are accurately informed about the benefits of a sports drink. And the truth is, scientists say there is no evidence that Powerade Ion4 is a more complete sports drink than Gatorade,” PepsiCo said in a statement. “This claim is complete in only one way — it is completely false.”

For Black Websites, Blackness Is Important

… but Not the Only Thing

“Why do you people have to attach race to everything, including websites?”

That question, though rarely asked out loud by mainstream marketers, is often implied in other questions when they ask about Black media. And it was a specific challenge to Ken Smikle who, last month, held Target Market News’ second-annual African-American Internet Summit in Chicago. It was attended by nearly 200 people and included some of the brightest minds in marketing, advertising, market research and the digital space.

Bloggers Be Warned:

FTC May Monitor What You Say

Thinking about letting a big-name blogger test-drive your new hybrid in the hope he’ll post a glowing review about it, or maybe sending some beverage products to an influencer, hoping she’ll spread the word?

You might have to think twice, if the Federal Trade Commission follows through with its proposed plan to start regulating viral marketing and blogs.

As part of its review of its advertising guidelines, the FTC is proposing that word-of-mouth marketers and bloggers, as well as people on social-media sites such as Facebook, be held liable for any false statements they make about a product they’re promoting, along with the product’s marketer. This could present a significant issue for marketers, including the likes of Microsoft, Ford and Pepsi, who spend billions on word-of-mouth and social media. PQ Media projects that marketers will spend $3.7 billion on word-of-mouth marketing in 2011.

Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn’t Tweet

Everyone’s Talking About It, but Should You Be Doing It?

Mainstream media has gone ga ga about Twitter, which grew more than 1,200% in the past year, doubled its members in the past few months and attained 14 million members in March, according to Compete.

Everyone and his dog seems to be tweeting, from CEOs, celebrities and not-for-profits to venture capitalists, banks, business services, government and, well, dogs (and cats and the random parakeet, too). Should your business be tweeting? Twitter is not for everyone. Here are the “Top 10 Reasons Not to Tweet.”