Google is launching a billboard campaign in four major cities named “Going Google.” There is a ton of buzz around the campaign, being that Google typically does not conduct traditional forms of advertising and that this is a direct shot at Microsoft.

First, here is a video of some of the billboards:

As you can see, this is promoting Google Apps in a major way. Not only does this drive to the core of Microsoft’s products, but it is also one of the few times Google using traditional means of advertising. It is funny to see Microsoft advertise Bing on TV and at the same time to see this from Google, in addition to them advertising AdSense on radio. But if one thing is clear, Google has been using traditional forms of advertising to promote Google Apps, Chrome, Google Maps, and even AdSense.

I will be driving by one of the billboard locations that this ad should appear on. I am not sure if the ad will be there today, but if it is, I will do my best to snap a picture and post it here.

For more information, see google.com/appsatwork.

Related Topics: Google: Apps For Your Domain | Google: Marketing

About The Author: Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio over here. See more articles by Barry Schwartz