Google AdWords has had issues in the past, most famously was the posting of illegal pharmacy ads that required a $500million settlement. However, Valentine’s Day highlighted another issue with AdWords. For some of the day on Valentine’s Day ads were rendered for Proflowers that said a competitor was sold out of flowers. The competitor eventually realized what was being posted and called Google on it. The ads in question were ceased, but not before some people were exposed to them.
The problem was not false advertising on the part of Proflowers but rather a flaw with Google’s Keyword Insertion program. For advanced users a keyword can be put into the advertisement. In this case people searching for ‘Chez Bloom’ were given a Proflowers ad that was supposed to say they were sold out for Valentine’s Day but were able to accept orders for later, except the keyword insertion of ‘Chez Bloom’ into the ad made it seem Chez Bloom was sold out instead.
It was a honest mistake, but highlights an important lesson for the digital firm. Brands need to keep tabs on their advertisements to make sure they are being implemented correctly and efficiently. Brands also need to keep an eye on their competitor’s ads. Even though Google has a policy of reviewing ads before they are sent out, errors can slip through, assuming Google even knows what constitutes an error in some cases.
