Fuel to the Fire.

Google’s now allowing advertisers to use trademarks – other people’s trademarks – in ad copy.

To recap, Geico, American Blinds, etc… have long complained about Google’s old policy, whereby an advertiser could buy another’s trademark to trigger their ads, but not use their name/trademark in the ad copy.  The thinking was that as long as, say, Allstate wasn’t misleading the public by claiming to be Geico, that they were free to appear in search results for Geico.  So someone searching for “Geico Auto Insurance” might’ve seen an ad that said:

Free Car Insurance Quotes.
Our Three-Minute Process Could Save
You Hundreds On Your Car Insurance.
www.Car-Insurance.com 

Now, it seems, someone searching could see an add – not from Geico – that would read:

Cheaper Than Geico.
Our Three-Minute Process Could Save
You Hundreds On Your Car Insurance.
www.Car-Insurance.com

At first glance, this might a little too wild-wild-west, I think.