Obama Wall St Campaign Uses AdWords

by Lucy Griffiths on 26th April 2010

Online surfers who wanted to find out about news involving US bank and Goldman Sachs were redirected to a government campaign website, which official spokespeople confirmed was achieved through bidding on Google’s AdWords advertising network.

The US banking giant has certainly been in the headlines with its announcement of substantial profits and that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating areas of its business.

Those who typed in "Goldman Sachs SEC" were taken to a website whose aim is to raise people’s awareness of its desire to clean up Wall St and corporate governance.

Writer and academic John Lott noted that Democratic National Committee spokesperson Hari Sevugan was unwilling to answer his questions about how soon after the SEC announcement, the ad was purchased and whether there was any special treatment of the US government by Google.

As the Guardian reports, it may be seen as a clever ploy to play on elements of "anti Wall St sentiment" as the White House looks to push through its reforms, by investing in SEO services.