Today’s Mad Men Respect The Bing

Several advertising powerhouses are showing some respect for the Microsoft-Yahoo! search engine deal, which would advance Microsoft’s Bing in its challenge to Google.

As discussed in an earlier post, Yahoo! and Microsoft’s proposed partnership, which provides for Yahoo! to exit the search business and rely exclusively on Microsoft’s search engine Bing, is unlikely to be aided by traditional merger defenses in the wake of the Department of Justice’s antitrust review.  However, on October 19, 2009, the American Association of Advertising Agencies wrote a letter to the DOJ endorsing the partnership.

 The letter – also signed by leading advertising agencies Publicis Groupe, WPP, Interpublic Group, and Omnicom – states that a “healthy, competitive market for search and search advertising is crucial to the Internet’s future,” and that “Yahoo! and Microsoft’s proposal to combine their technologies and search platforms is good for advertisers, marketing services agencies, website publishers and consumers.”  The letter opines that the partnership “enhances competition,” and urges the DOJ to conclude its review quickly so that the partnership can take effect as soon as possible.