Ask Bring the Butler Back!
Posted in Marketing, Search Engines on April 20th, 2009 by Hannah
The BBC reported today that Search Engine Ask is reverting back to its original name Ask Jeeves, and is bringing back the Butler character as part of their corporate branding.
Jeeves the Butler was dropped from the brand back in 2006 as the brand attempted to increase market share.
Jeeves explains his own absence as follows:
The search engine has been through a series of rebrands, including a TV advertising campaign portraying it as an underground alternative to Google.
In the autumn of 2008 it had another makeover, this time branding itself as the search engine that could best answer specific questions.
Way back when I got my first job in marketing at Ladbrokes back in 2000, I remember attending a course called ‘how to use the internet’. At the time I clearly remember the course tutor extolling the virtues of Ask Jeeves as it handled search queries asked in plain english very well. As such I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the brand, and whilst Ask’s no Google killer, I’m pleased to see them return to their original brand values.
