Madison Avenue on Google-Yahoo: huh?
Nicholas Carlson · 06/16/08 03:00PMWhy did Yahoo turn down Microsoft's offer and — to the disappointment of shareholders, employees and board members — go for Google's instead? Because Google will allow Yahoo to continue selling some search ads to its display advertising clients, while Microsoft would have insisted its sales team handle all Yahoo search buys. Allowing its display advertisers to purchase "integrated media" — search and display together — is very important to Yahoo. But is it important to Yahoo's customers? According to our sources on Madison Avenue, not really. Or, at the very least not yet.