We Sell Ferrari Driving Experiences, But Google Won't Let Us Say That

[chrismillion]

Ferrari have stopped us from using there name for one of our customers, he owns www.ferraridriving.com. Apparently this is for Europe only? Ferrari now want to start advertising there own products on Google and Google have allowed Ferrari to trademark there name with Google so only Ferrari can use there name on Google ads. Is it just me or does this seem outrageous? We can no longer us keywords like DRIVE A FERRARI, they are slowly weeding all the ads out.

WHO WILL BE NEXT?

Part of E-mail from Google below


Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision
Issue(s): Ad Text Trademark Term
~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:
-> Ad Text: Please remove the following trademark term from your
ad: "Ferrari".


---------------------
POLICY DEFINITIONS:

Ad Text Trademark Term: Due to trademark complaints, we do not allow advertisers to use certain trademarked terms as ad text for their Google AdWords campaigns. You can learn more about Google's trademark policy at: http://www.google.co.uk/tm_complaint.html

[integramed]

FYI: I'm in the US (New York) and I'm seeing lots of advertisers using the ferrari keyword, including eBay. Have you had any official notification from Google other than the usual adwords review notice?

[chrismillion]

if you goto Google UK search only you will see they are removing all ads with ferrari in. They are not doing it in the US, our customer spoke to Google in America and they are only doing this in Europe at the moment, Ferrari must be paying Google alot of money, as our customer spends alot of money on adwords.

[DarkMatter]

There is a way around this.

You are still permitted to purchase ferrari as a keyword, but you can't include it in your ad....unless you use dynamically inserted keywords.

That means you can set it up so that your ads appear for searches that include the word ferrari, and the title of the ad will be the search phrase.

check this doc dynamic keyword insertion

for instance, if you set this up and I searched "new ferrari", then the ad would appear with "new ferrari" as the title, with whatever copy you add for the description.

[chrismillion]

Thanks for that, will have a go tomorrow,will let you know if they still pull the ads off.

I appreciate your help.

Cheers
Chris

[AussieWebmaster]

The reason for the different rules is differences in trademark and advertising laws in Europe.

If you tried using alternatives: Hot Sports Car etc. to get the attention - the searchers know the word they used and will click on your ad in many cases.

[integramed]

I doubt dynamic keyword insertion will work in the long term - will probably get rejected when the ad is reviewed. Still, review times seem to be growing longer. Another thing to try is setup a landing page called, for example, drive-a-ferrari.html and then use this in the *display* URL. Still, these are all work arounds. Probably better in the long term to find new keywords as AussieWebmaster said.

[AussieWebmaster]

I would keep using it as an AdWord and work around inserting it in an ad... in general Google has tightened this process.

[Chris_D]

There have been different handling of trademark issues Adwords Trademarks WITHIN US & Canada, as opposed to Adwords Trademarks OUTSIDE US & Canada, for a while now.

Within Canada and the US

we will only investigate whether the advertisements at issue are using terms corresponding to the trademarked term in the advertisement's content.

Outside US and Canada

our review is limited to ensuring that the advertisements at issue are not using a term corresponding to the trademarked term in the ad content or as a keyword trigger.

(my bold)
Personally - wouldn't that why you get a trademark in the first place? To protect the use of your brandname?

[integramed]

Yes, in general, you must accept a certain amouit of trademark protection -- and it's enforced differently in different juristdictions -- for example, try using keyword google in the US (or anywhere) -- although I notice that keyword goog is well used, and with great effect by some (woot).. a classic example of working to find alternate keywords.

[Branoic]

Actually, I doubt Ferrari are paying Google any money (apart from whatever money they owe for clicks, like the rest of us). Ferrari is a trademark or Ferrari. They didn't "do a deal" with Google to stop others using the term. They TOLD Google not to let other use the term, as is their legal right. Its got nothing to do with any decisions or deals made by Google.

[AussieWebmaster]

Again you can use the keyword just not in the das themsleves....

[andrewgoodman]

Originally Posted by DarkMatter

There is a way around this.

You are still permitted to purchase ferrari as a keyword, but you can't include it in your ad....unless you use dynamically inserted keywords.

That means you can set it up so that your ads appear for searches that include the word ferrari, and the title of the ad will be the search phrase.

check this doc dynamic keyword insertion

for instance, if you set this up and I searched "new ferrari", then the ad would appear with "new ferrari" as the title, with whatever copy you add for the description.

Not necessarily so. Google probably has developed technology to block the ads regardless of dynamic keyword insertion, in response to complaints... especially in countries that take a harder line on trademark infringement.

The courts are basically going to require it in many countries, so my sense from doing quite a number of searches is that Google and Yahoo have the technology to block certain ads from showing up, when they really have to.

It's a shame that a company like Ferrari would do this. There are lots of great sites that are things like "lexusfan.com." I mean come on, get on the Cluetrain, these are your FANS. But legal depts may believe it's incumbent on them to "protect" their trademarks in every way.

[andrewgoodman]

Originally Posted by Chris_D

There have been different handling of trademark issues Adwords Trademarks WITHIN US & Canada, as opposed to Adwords Trademarks OUTSIDE US & Canada, for a while now.

Within Canada and the US
Outside US and Canada
(my bold)
Personally - wouldn't that why you get a trademark in the first place? To protect the use of your brandname?

But define "use". Can I say "Ferrari" when my wife sneezes at dinner? Can I go on the national news and say "I love Ferraris"? Can I publish an article that says Ferraris suck? Can I start a forum that discusses Ferraris, and serve banner ads about all types of cars, including Ferraris, on the pages of the site?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Obviously, the law is stricter in Europe, but on those four points at least, the answers would still be yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Also, I'm allowed to say: "great, so I can't wait for you to drop my new Ferrari off on March 19th, in a burnt orange, with tan seats, extra expensive leather."

[Chris_D]

Hi Andrew - I'm surprised that you picked on that word!!



I should have probably just said that the reasons you apply for a trademark are probably the same reasons for which you want to enforce the mark.

Although I'm not a lawyer, I suspect that you can probably say 'Ferrari' when your wife sneezes at dinner, so long as you are not creating a likelihood of consumer confusion.

I was actually just making the point that Googles policies OUTSIDE US & Canada are different to those which apply to US & Canada. Outside the US and Canada a trademark holder can petition Google as per the link I provided above, and have their trademarks excluded from being trigger words.

PS. Its not really a Ferrari unless its red.

[chrismillion]

The name ferrari is the name for thousands of italians, it is a surname. Therefore I thought the trade mark was more on the style of font they use as seen by the extended ‘ F ‘ It’s not like we are making a kit car and putting Ferrari badges on the kit car and trying to sell it as a Ferrari, we are giving people who cannot afford a Ferrari a chance to drive there dream car, or someone who has a Ferrari but wants to learn how to handle the car at high speed.

Chris, I'm in the UK also and Google stopped me using a trademark name in my keywords. I didnt ask to use it in the ad, headline or anywhere in the bodycopy.

PS for Andrew. I just finished reading your book which I purchased from Amazon. Its very good and I gave it a 5 rating. Well done.

Try putting the word Ferrari in your display URL. Google won't allow it in your creative at all, but you should be able to sneak it into the display. I've had similar issues with other trademarked words, and this works. Good luck!

[grnidone]

It's a small thing..

But can someone please please please fix the misspelling in the title in this post?

[Chris_D]

But can someone please please please fix the misspelling in the title in this post?

Done grnidone