Natural language search engine Ask Jeeves launched a marketing program in the
produce department of supermarkets across the country.
Grocery shoppers who are buying apples for an afternoon snack or their
child’s lunch are likely to find apples bearing Ask Jeeves stickers featuring
questions such as “Why is New York called the Big Apple?” and “How do I make
homemade apple sauce?”
The new marketing program, which is designed to drive users to Ask Jeeves’
natural-language question answering service and promote apple consumption, is
part of the company’s national branding campaign, including participation in
the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a partnership with Michael Ovitz’ Lynx
Technology Group.
Ask Jeeves has partnered with the Fruit Label Co. and the California Apple
Commission to label 15 million apples with stickers featuring the Ask Jeeves
character, the Ask.com URL and questions related to apples. Spending was not
disclosed.
“We want to let people know about the wealth of information available on the
Web by highlighting our ability to answer questions that are relevant to
people’s needs and interests,” said Ted Briscoe, senior vice president and
general manager of Ask.com.
“We believe the apple campaign allows us to
inform consumers as they go about their everyday tasks that Ask.com is a
great source for answers. We look forward to the possibilities we’ll continue
to roll out the program in 2000, labeling other fruits such as oranges,
grapefruits and bananas.”
“This advertising campaign is unique because it involves an Internet company
targeting a commodity — a very new approach,” said Irv Weinhaus, chief executive officer of The
Fruit Label Co.