When dynamic keyword insertion goes wrong: Are *you* craving puppies?

By Chris Cardinal
On June 20th, 2008

Craving Puppies I mentioned dynamic keyword insertion in my blog post earlier this week. Basically, it allows you to target a whole swath of keywords on Google AdWords with the same ad and simply have the keyword inserted directly into the ad. This works well for some things, like, say, shoes, or inkjet cartridges where you just need to replace a brand name or model number in an otherwise good ad.

It takes on a whole new level of creepiness, however, when a Honda ad asks me “Are you craving puppies?” No, Google. No, Honda. I’m not. I’m not even sure what that means. Am I craving puppy blood? The tender flesh of puppies? I mean, seriously, what the hell? Honda’s ad campaign for their CR-V suggests “whatever you’re craving, the Crave Reader can guess.” (It’s actually a stylized version of the cool 20Q game you’ve probably seen in stores.)

Now I’m sure that they applied a dictionary set to their keyword campaign but some of those words just aren’t going to pair well when you ask me if I’m craving them. “Are you craving small children?” “Are you craving prison?” What a strange campaign. The moral of the story? Sometimes, you should check your dictionary lists. If you’re at all concerned with appearing creepy. But maybe I am in the mood for a puppy ringtone after all.