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In Paris, a Web of Intrigue
Ads on Google that direct Web surfers to
a petition supporting hard-line Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
have ignited a political storm
The
political fallout from the riots that have rocked France over the
past two weeks has only just begun (see BW Online, 11/7/05,
"The Economics Fueling the French Riots"). But the center-right
party, headed by law-and-order presidential aspirant Nicolas Sarkozy,
is already tapping into public concern -- and stirring controversy
-- with an unprecedented high-tech ploy.
Since last weekend, Internet users who entered the French
equivalents for such words as "riots," "burned cars," and "violence"
into the French home page for search giant Google (GOOG)
got the usual list of free links. They also got a small
advertisement, tucked into the upper right-hand corner of the page,
directing them to a special Web site for the ruling French political
party, the Union pour un Movement Populaire, or UMP.
There, surfers were presented with an electronic petition expressing
support for Sarkozy and his tough stance toward the rioters. Dubbed
"the prince of darkness" by critics, Sarkozy has backed widescale
arrests, curfews, and "zero tolerance" for hooliganism. An estimated
37,000 users have clicked on the ad and visited the UMP's site, and
11,500 people have signed and returned the petition, says a party
spokeswoman.
TRAFFIC BOOST. Sarkozy's Google AdWord campaign was the brainchild
of new-media guru Arnaud Dassier, who couldn't be reached for
comment. He runs a small Web and advertising agency in Paris called
L'Enchanteur des Nouveaux Médias (roughly, "the charmer of new
media"). Dassier's outfit has done work for numerous government
agencies in France, including Paris city hall, as well as dozens of
corporate clients.
In interviews with the French media, Dassier said his firm purchased
three "families" of keywords on Google, concerning politics, Sarkozy,
and the banlieues, or suburbs, of Paris, where the riots have
been concentrated. Dassier told ZDNet France that the keywords had
lifted traffic to the UMP site by 10% to 15%.
Online reaction to the keyword campaign was fast and furious. One
blogger labeled it propaganda, while another suggested that the
French Left had something to learn from such an "enormous and
superclever" media tactic. Others wondered how much the campaign had
cost the UMP, bemoaning the fact that Google ads are available only
to those with the financial means to buy them. Another -- clearly a
Sarkozy opponent -- suggested that the UMP also should have bought
the words "repression, inequality, unemployment, police state," and
"racism."
FAILED INITIATIVE. The 50-year-old Sarkozy is on the hot seat right
now because, as interior minister of the current French
administration, he is most directly responsible for quelling the
riots. Given his aspirations to be elected President in 2007 -- and
his strong anticrime political position -- Sarkozy stands to lose
the most if the riots continue to spin out of control (see BW
Online, 11/7/05,
"France Burns for Its Sins").
Sarkozy also was responsible for shuttering in 2002 an experimental
group of suburban police precincts, set up by the previous Socialist
government. The police stations, meant to improve community
relations in the long-simmering housing projects ringing Paris,
didn't reduce the crime rate.
As usual in France, the cyber-politicking wasn't without massive
controversy. Among the words purchased by Dassier et cie was
a controversial epithet, "racaille," which has no easy
English translation, but can mean "rabble," "riff-raff," or even
"scum."
That's the word Sarkozy used to describe protesters who pelted him
with rocks and bottles during an Oct. 25 visit to a poor Parisian
suburb. The outrage over his use of the slur may have played a role
in touching off the riots, which began two days later, after two
immigrant youths were accidentally electrocuted while hiding from
police in an electrical substation.
WORD AND DEED. Dassier has denied purposely signing up to link with
"racaille." He notes that when advertisers buy a keyword,
Google presents a list of synonyms also available for purchase. "We
cleaned out an enormous number of the proposed words, including many
far worse than 'racaille,'" he told ZDNet. "We never had the
intention to let the keyword 'racaille' get through."
Bloggers responding to the ZDNet story dismissed Dassier's assertion
as bunk, explaining that buyers must specifically select each AdWord.
"Dassier is lying," said a reader identified as stef/qb.
A Google spokeswoman in Paris confirmed that the UMP had purchased
AdWords, but could not discuss them for reasons of client
confidentiality. She did say, however, that it's technically
possible for advertisers to buy a raft of keyword synonyms without
explicitly "opting in" to each one.
MISSING LINK. Sarkozy recently learned that what Google giveth,
Google can taketh away. Unrelated to the riots, a group of
cyber-savvy French political opponents has succeeded in planting a
so-called "Google bomb" against Sarkozy.
Through a coordinated effort of linking Web sites, they manipulated
the search engine so that when users enter the name "Nicolas Sarkozy"
into Google's French home page, the first result to pop up is a
promo for an upcoming film called Iznogoud. The movie title
is a play on the English phrase "is no good," pronounced with a
French accent. Although the film is based on a comic book by the
same folks who created the famous Asterix series, French Web surfers
will no doubt understand the playful reference.
In any event, the UMP's online adventure has achieved its goal in
generating buzz. Searching for "racaille" no longer points
surfers to the UMP ad, but the other keywords still do. Looks like
Sarkozy will use every tool at his disposal to get his message out
-- and to try using a potential political black eye to his
advantage.
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