Changing a long-standing policy, Google (GOOG) will now allows search ads for beer and champagne. Wine ads were already OK. Liquor ads are still prohibited, a Google rep told Gonzo-SEO.
A Google rep told Search Engine Land it made the change because, "we regularly review Google AdWords content policies and make changes to keep them current and effective."
Another theory: During an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that the company should weather the current economic crises because "in a recession, people look for different things," using Google's search engine.
"They look for bank re-financing or, in our case bank safes, and all of the sudden the value [of advertisements against those searches] goes up as other things go down."
Bank safes, bank refinancing, cheap booze specials -- it's not hard to connect the dots. Statistics show that people drink more and alcohol sales climb during a recession.
Google's updated AdWords FAQ says they will keep the nefarious alcohol ads away from children by giving them a "Non-FamilySafe status."
See Also:
The Recession Comes To Google
Google: Economy So Bad We Don't Need As Many Servers As We Thought
In Search Of Revenue: New Google Ads Everywhere
(Photo by uberculture)
On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.