Ask Ramps Up The Mystery Ads

By Danny Sullivan

Published: April 3, 2007 at 1:46 pm

First in the UK, Ask
rolled out a guerilla marketing campaign aimed at sparking an "information
revolution" to choose Ask over Google. Now a different yet still mysterious
campaign is underway in the US by Ask.

Valleywag

reports about billboards on Highway 101 between San Francisco and San Jose
saying "The Algorithm Killed Jeeves" [Ask’s old mascot, when it was called Ask
Jeeves] and "The Algorithm Is From Jersey" [where Ask’s
Teoma
algorithm was developed, and where it continues to have a research center."

Valleywag has pictures of the billboards. I like one that shows up right
behind the San Carlos city limit sign. San Carlos is the hometown of Ask CEO Jim
Lanzone.

Explore more on

Advertising campaign Ask.com Jeeves Jim Lanzone San Francisco San Jose Search engine Teoma United Kingdom United States Valleywag

Add Search Engine Land as a preferred source on Google

Editorial disclosure

Contributing authors are chosen for their expertise and work under the oversight of the editorial staff. Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. The contributor was not asked to mention Semrush; the opinions expressed are their own.

About the author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.