Ask.com ad

[Meg Adal]

I saw ask.com ad mentioning about algorithm.
I was driving through NJ and saw billboard saying something like "Jeeves was killed..."

Does anyone know what that means.

Thanks
M.

[fred rosenberger]

askjeeves.com used to be a web site that you could type in any question. it would then try to give you an answer (via providing web links). I never found it terribly effective.

apparently ask.com has either bought askjeeves, or simply re-branded it, as the 'jeeves' URL now takes you to the ask.com site.

the them 'jeeeves' refers to a man-servant - like a butler. You could ask him to do anything for you - get the mail, wash the car, fix your dinner... I don't know why, but in the U.S., the name 'Jeeves' is always used. Kind of like 'bubba' is used to refer to a redneck.
[ June 06, 2007: Message edited by: Fred Rosenberger ]

[Henry Wong]

IMHO, advertising doesn't have to make complete sense. If it gets you talking about it, it worked.

BTW, for those that don't know, ask jeeves was the company that also released a bunch of toolbars apps, such as smiley central (or maybe they bought them, not sure). There have been many complaints that it was loaded with adware, even though they claim it is not. Regardless, whether ask.com is okay now or not, I will not touch their stuff.

Henry

[Sonny Gill]

Originally posted by Fred Rosenberger:
I don't know why, but in the U.S., the name 'Jeeves' is always used.
[ June 06, 2007: Message edited by: Fred Rosenberger ]

The first I came across Jeeves was in P.G. Wodehouse's work. He is the butler for a quirky British noble man, from what I remember. And Jeeves solves a lot of problematic situations his employer runs into.

I wonder if this association with the name Jeeves comes from Wodehouse's work. If it did, that would be quite amazing.

BTW if you haven't read Wodehouse, I highly recommend that you check it out. The man is funny, in that subtle British way.

[Eric Pascarello]

Have you seen the tv ad they been running a lot: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/05/askcom-commercial-now-on-youtube/

Eric

[Greg Charles]

Jeeves definitely comes from the works of P.G. Wodehouse. He was the valet for Bertram Wooster ... a nice guy, just not very bright. Jeeves, conversely, was nearly omniscient. It was Wodehouse's little dig at England's class system. The characters appeared in a series of humorous short stories and novels, which are absolutely worth checking out.

If you absolutely can't stand print, "Jeeves and Wooster", starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie did a respectable job of bringing the stories to life. If you've only seen Hugh Laurie in "House", they're worth watching just to hear his natural accent.

[Pj Murray]

Originally posted by Greg Charles:
Jeeves definitely comes from the works of P.G. Wodehouse. He was the valet for Bertram Wooster ... a nice guy, just not very bright. Jeeves, conversely, was nearly omniscient. It was Wodehouse's little dig at England's class system. The characters appeared in a series of humorous short stories and novels, which are absolutely worth checking out.

If you absolutely can't stand print, "Jeeves and Wooster", starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie did a respectable job of bringing the stories to life. If you've only seen Hugh Laurie in "House", they're worth watching just to hear his natural accent.

Check Jeeves and Wooster out here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098833/