The Super Bowl is one of the world’s most viewed television events, and this year was no exception. While some companies use humor and comedy to gain attention, others use animal mascots and babies to drive awareness. This year’s commercials were by no means as extravagant or expensive as we’ve witnessed in the past but most were still in contention.

 

The thing that stood out this year, was how product placement played a role, namely in Google’s case. Almost all commercials utilized their products and logos as would be expected. But no logo saw as much screen time as Google. The ad, titled “Parisian Love”, was in all instances a product demo, showing off Google’s search functionality while at all times displaying their ubiquitous logo on screen for more than 50 seconds.

 

Yes, many also saw Coke, Doritos, and Budweiser but when it comes to brand recognition, everyone unequivocally saw Google.

 

See it again:

 

Yahoo! has reached an agreement with GOOG that will allow GOOG to display their ads within Yahoo! search results.  This deal has anti-trust watchers percolating and search engine advertisers wondering if the partnership is going to lead to higher keyword pricing from the PPC partnership.  

Let’s coin a new term – Clickopoly.  Sorry – Clickopoly™.

Antitrust lawmakers fear that this partnership will push prices higher.  Yahoo and GOOG claim the partnership will allow GOOG advertisers to tap into more keyword searches and Yahoo! to monetize more searches that currently don’t have sponsored advertisers.  Google has plenty.

FOR GENUINE CUSTOMERS:  As long as GOOG doesn’t artificially control keyword pricing with volume penalties and quality scores, advertising on the web becomes easier because we can manage one program and reach 90% of the search market.   Basically advertisers will get the same or more reach with the same or lower service fees.

FOR YAHOO!:  Yahoo has thrown in the PPC towel and will focus on their massive user group and communities. According to reports, Yahoo! will benefit from $800 million in new revenue due to the deal.