Google Gets Into Abortion Debate; Max Shoes Steps On Women

by Jen Nedeau · 2009-09-28 13:02:00 UTC
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I've written in the past about how advertising can often push the envelope in good and bad ways.

Well it seems that this time, women have been hit twice by the world of advertising, but for two very different reasons.

The first story is about our favorite search engine that seems it can do no harm: Google. In a surprise move to steer clear from controversy, Google is now stating it will no longer accept ads that promote abortion services in fifteen countries: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain and Taiwan. These ads would typically come up when a user searches for keywords and then Google AdWords show up alongside search results as "sponsored links" and are a source of revenue for the search engine company.

Since when did it become okay for Google to determine that abortion is controversial? In my eyes, it's just another medical procedure that individuals may choose to "google" if they need to. Typically, I expect the controversy conversation about abortion to come from anti-choice groups and the Catholic Church, not search engine advertising companies.

The second faux pas comes from Max Shoes that must think it's cute to tie up women in the name of selling their products. However, the advertisement below elicits a strong undertone of racialized violence and becomes particularly suspect when you consider the target audience: men. The ad was produced by German Ad Agency, Jung von Matt.

Jen Nedeau Jen Nedeau is a media relations professional and a writer based in New York City.
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