February 8th, 2010
TV Ads Create and Expand Internet Search Category
Lycos was the original internet Search technology and company. Lycos was the fastest IPO in Nasdaq history. Lycos also was also the first Search company to advertise for the mass market with a series of television ads way back in in 1997 and through the late 1990’s.
Check out the first Lycos Ad that links a “Sherpa” as your guide to the Internet. The goal to bring awareness to the category of Internet Search…a whole new category…and drive awareness and traffic to Lycos.
Lycos traded in the Sherpa in it’s next wave of television spots, but it kept on the theme of creating the category of Internet Search. The Sherpa became the Labrador Retriever that would allow the consumer to retrieve info across the Internet. The Lycos Lab was loveable and is still a brand icon today.
Lycos went onto align with Tennis star Anna Kournikova for a series of ads as well. You can make the connection of what type of search behavior this was going to drive.
Now twelve years later in 2010. Google has become the Internet Search powerhouse. They have amassed this position with superior technology that has powered their massive expansion. Google has not been that aggressive as an advertiser for their own brand off of the Internet medium, though they hit the airwaves with an ad that shows off their integrated search solution with a television ad in 2010 Super Bowl.
So interesting to see how far Internet Search has evolved with these clips. Lycos was a trailblazer for the category. It is hard work to create the notion of a category that has never existed. Google reaps the reward by bringing expanded functionality and integration. Google has become the presumptive leader of the category. Different ads for different times.
It will be interesting to see if Google continues to advertise. It will also be interesting to see who leads ten years from now.
