Microsoft is prepping for a big fight in Washington, where its army of lawyers are reportedly buttering up lawmakers in an attempt to block the Yahoo-Google deal.
Meanwhile, most advertisers and marketers still don't know what to make of the potential alliance, nor is it clear how it could affect pricing, if at all.
Some people have made noises, though. Scott Cleland, for example, analyst and founder and president of consultancy Precursor, argues that marketers need a "Bill of Rights for the Google-Yahoo cartel," which would entail fair representation, competition, auction neutrality, and so on.__ __
Just for kicks we checked in with advertising lobbyist Dan Jaffe, the Washington D.C.-based executive vice president of government relations at the Association of National Advertisers. Is he planning any sort of response to the deal?
"We are certainly examining this issue and discussing it with our members, but we have not yet gotten sufficient feedback to decide how or if we may become more actively involved," says Jaffe.
Photo: Flickr/Robin Green Eye
