ANA CEO Apologizes For Google Comments
The president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers sent out an e-mail to those who attended the group's advertising law and public policy conference this week for the tone of comments made by Microsoft against rival Google.
In a speech to the ANA Wednesday, Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Mary Snapp blasted Google's advertising and trademark protection policies. She claimed Google uses its dominant position to force companies "to pay inflated prices" for online advertising, and to deter them from placing advertisements on Microsoft's networks.
In an e-mail obtained by Tech Daily Dose, ANA's Bob Liodice said his group was "disappointed with the comments made by speakers from Microsoft about one of its competitors (Google)." Microsoft is an ANA member and sponsored the policy conference. Google's online ad firm, Doubleclick, also is an ANA member.
"ANA works hard to focus conference speakers on providing marketplace insights, marketing best practices and leveraging innovation for the benefit of marketers," Liodice said in the e-mail Thursday to conference attendees. "While we are not opposed to two companies debating industry issues at ANA events, we firmly believe that a respected public platform for that type of exchange should include both parties. We regret that at yesterday's lunch session, that was not the case."
He also apologized for the fact that the group did not disclose before or during the speech that another conference speaker, Harvard assistant business professor Benjamin Edelman, also works as a Microsoft consultant. "We apologize to our attendees as well as to Google that such a disclosure was not made," Liodice said.
Following Snapp's speech on Wednesday, Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said Google works "hard to compete fair and square, and our policies are intended to provide users with the most relevant results possible, and give advertisers the best possible return on their investment."
The ANA did not respond to a request for comment on Liodice's e-mail.
Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said, "We certainly thought our remarks were pertinent and appropriate at the conference given its focus on advertising law and public policy, and the positive response we received afterward from attendees. And we believe that the principles we outlined - openness, transparency and respect for intellectual property - are critical for healthy competition and the growth of the online advertising industry."
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