Google vs. Michael Moore's "Sicko"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:02 AM on July 2, 2007.

This psot, written by Duncan Riley, originally appeared on TechCrunch

In an interesting move, Google has come out against controversial documentary film maker Michael Moore's latest documentary "Sicko" in a post titled "Does negative press make you Sicko?".

Lauren Turner of the Google Health Advertising Team writes:

"While legislators, litigators, and patient groups are growing excited, others among us are growing anxious. And why wouldn't they? Moore attacks health insurers, health providers, and pharmaceutical companies by connecting them to isolated and emotional stories of the system at its worst. Moore's film portrays the industry as money and marketing driven, and fails to show healthcare's interest in patient well-being and care."

"We can place text ads, video ads, and rich media ads in paid search results or in relevant websites within our ever-expanding content network. Whatever the problem, Google can act as a platform for educating the public and promoting your message."

Google targeting Michael Moore is probably not a wise move. Whilst there may well be reasonable grounds to attack anything Michael Moore puts together, antagonizing Moore may well see Google become a larger target at a time the search giant is in the spotlight over its Double Click acquisition.

Tagged as: google, health care, sicko, moore