At first glance many branding experts may be quick to Judge Ask.co.uk and criticise their decision to bring back Jeeves, but in my opinion it is probably the best move the dwindling search provider could have made. Google dominates this market, everyone knows that and it’s close to impossible to compete against such a Goliath that has grown to mammoth proportions in market share, influence, share price and just about anything that can be measured.
But Ask.co.uk haven’t given up and while probably not looking to topple the top of the leader board, they are still in the game against the lower division teams, like Microsoft and Yahoo. They still have a chance to be the second best and by reintroducing Jeeves they are taking a step in the right direction. Jeeves made more of an impact than Ask ever gave themselves credit for, my dad still uses the term ‘Ask Jeeves’ when talking about some fact he wants to prove he is right about, like dads do, and I am sure he is not the only one. Considering they dropped the term 3 years ago it shows great longevity and memorability.
So why did they dismiss poor old Jeeves in the first place? I think it was an attempt to get serious and lose the restrictions an English butler places on your brand and service. Ask wanted to grow up and appeal to everyone as a serious search service, not just people that found Jeeves funny or charming, so Jeeves was sent packing back to the English countryside or wherever digital English butlers retire to. At the time an Ask executive said “the internet has moved on and consumers have moved on.. they don’t understand the relevance of him any more: it’s time to move the brand on too”.
Ask are saying they are bringing back Jeeves ‘due to popular demand’ and although I agree the brand works better as originally conceived it does is highlight the company’s confusion about its own identity. Nevertheless after years of ‘just asking’ Jeeves is back, and might have all the answers.
I like to think Jeeves tried different jobs while he was away, and the possibilities for hilarious TV adverts showing an unsatisfied Jeeves undertaking these Jobs before returning are truly endless, this would make a great TV campaign. Maybe he was kidnapped and held to ransom and using his skills to search with keywords his was able to escape, Jack Bauer style.
I used AskJeeves.com a long time ago, and to be honest it wasn’t that much different to Google. I think it is more recognised by people in the UK and since the US have the most internet users, that is the key market that Google dominate. Still good to see Jeeves back.
I love Jeeves, didn’t realise they had stopped using him. I think it is always a good idea to try and personify brand in some way, using a character like this will do the trick.