Ask.com has launched a guerrilla-style marketing campaign designed to encourage British internet users to broaden their choice of search engine.
In the last couple of weeks, posters featuring a megaphone, a link to information-revolution.org and the slogan “stop the information monopoly” began appearing on tube trains, lamp posts and elsewhere. They warn libertarians about Google’s 75% UK market share, although the name of the organisation behind the campaign was not disclosed.
But on Wednesday it emerged the domain was owned by Profero, a marketing agency used by Yahoo! and Ask.com, before Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone confirmed the details. He told CNET News:
“We’ve found that 62% of UK users give little to no thought to which search engine they use. It’s been hard to break through in that market.
“So, we’re raising the issue in a tongue-and-cheek fashion. We want people to explore new options. We’re certainly not saying Google has done anything wrong in the process.”
But the campaign does not stop at posters to spread its message. Ask.com has even included the message in its own search results for “Google”.
Despite encouraging searchers to seek out an alternative search engine, some who have left comments at information-revolution.org have criticised the initially secretive nature of the campaign.