• The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, April 5, 2007 10:45 AM

A new ad campaign in Britain from Ask.com concedes top spot in the search poll to rival Google, Inc. -- a rather risky advertising strategy. The idea behind the ad campaign is that it's unhealthy for consumers to rely on one source for getting information from the Internet.

Google is used for 75% of Internet searches in the U.K. But the plan could backfire, as the campaign, presented in a consumer-watch kind of way, tries to hide the fact that it's advertising for Ask.com. Some consumers have already reacted angrily to the tactic, complaining that they were duped.

Publicis Groupe's Fallon Worldwide created the campaign, which tells the story of a pretend revolutionary movement to spur the British public into rebelling against "the online information monopoly," the Google "establishment." The campaign involves T.V., radio, outdoor, experiential marketing and a Web site that are all designed to look like messages from the revolutionary movement. There is no mention of Ask.com, except that the Web site contains a small Ask.com logo. No wonder people felt duped. Fallon, meanwhile, said it expected criticism but had little to lose, given Google's commanding 60%-plus share in search.

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