Worst Ad Placement. Ever

[kpete]

Worst. Ad. Placement. Ever.
Sunday, 06 August 2006

Came across this somewhat obsolete sponsored ad near the bottom of a Yahoo News photo page, during a search under the word "Beirut":



http://www.bobharris.com/content/view/1076/

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. God that's horrible.

It's like seeing the World Trade Center address on companies' websites after 9/11.

[Berry Cool]

3. Yeah, but at least then you can say maybe they didn't think to change it

immediately.

This actually looks exploitative...like they're saying "We have good news and bad news. The bad news is, Beirut is being bombed all to hell. The good news is, it's REALLY easy now to find a cheap hotel there!"

Of course, it's all the product of some mindless program that picked up on the city name in the photo headline and plugged it into a hotel ad. If the picture had been of Las Vegas, it would have been an ad for cheap Las Vegas hotels.

But when Web pages have an ad setup like that, tacky and thoughtless is what they risk displaying.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Gee. I dunno.

Maybe a meat packing plant could sponsor an article about Jeffrey Dahmer.

[theHandpuppet]

4. Got another one for you

Note the Google ads accompanying an article on Hunger in America from Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/0510290939...

Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Weeks
Amazing Chinese fat-loss secret. As seen on Oprah & 60 Minutes.
www.WulongForLife.com
Lose 9 lbs. every 11 Days
Learn the 10 Idiot Proof Rules of Weight Loss & Dieting.
FatLoss4idiots.com
Healthy Eating Plans
We Review Almost Every Type of Diet & Weight Loss Plan Imaginable!
www.ReviewPlace.com
$153 Diet Formula?
Only $9.95 Here. Warning: 87% Lost over 26 Pounds.
www.SuesHealthCenter.com

[dorktv]

5. Actually that makes me think about booking a vacation to spend some

money in the local economy to bring it back after the war ends.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. I've seen several ads to "Meet Lebanese Women" with posts re Lebanon.

A bit jarring, to say the least, in conjunction with graphic pix of casualties.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. Not Anyone's Fault Though. It Is Just Like The Ads On DU.

They have keywords on a page, and ads on the page are specifically displayed geared towards the keyword. The engine doesn't realize there's a war in Lebanon right now. All it knows is you sought out a page on lebanon, so it gave you ads on lebanon.