• Ad Age, Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:02 AM

If you're a big brand, you've probably noticed if you've got a page on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia created and edited by the masses. Wikipedia is getting some serious usage these days. So serious, in fact, that the Wikipedia page for many brands, famous people, CEOs and global destinations frequently appears in the top 10 search results when Web users search on Google. The Wikipedia page for Home Depot, for example, is currently listed fifth when you search for the retailer. Among other things, you learn from the entry that there were several cases in which illegal drugs were found inside some Home Depot merchandise in Massachusetts. Home Depot probably doesn't want you to know that. Ad Age ran a check of dozens of the top brands, and repeatedly found that brands mentioned on Wikipedia figure in the top 10 results for Google, Yahoo, MSN Search and Ask.com. Other examples: Febreze's Wikipedia entry says the product may be harmful to household pets. The McDonald's entry offers a summary of the critical documentary "Super Size Me." Brand managers, of course, would love to be able to control this. But alas, they can't. In this day and age of instant information, it would be PR suicide to try and change a Wikipedia page to cast your brand in a better light.

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