Recently we ran an ad campaign with the search engine Google.  Our ads were quickly terminated do to the fact that we sell, in their words, "unacceptable products".  We have decided to share this string of email messages with you here in its entirety because as business owners we think that it is important to know who it is you choose to conduct business with.   So, next time you want to use Google to search the internet you will want to remember that this is a company who claims to support high moral values and free speech but as we discovered this only applies to communists and pornographers. 

Sincerely,

Michael Kelly

My third reply to Google for which I have received NO response.

Dear: Google AdWords Team,

Why the inconsistency with so-called "unacceptable products"?

I fully understand that it is your companies policy to not permit certain
advertising based on your "company values perspective".  And, I certainly
respect the management at Google for their willingness to stand up for what
they believe.  However, I am concerned about the inconsistency that Google
exercises in this policy and the company values that this policy REALLY
displays!

For example, I see that commercial advertising is allowed for sites offering
sex & pornography as well as advertising for a site under communist that
offers for FREE the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (It is no doubt a
communist front site whose goal is to promote communism in our schools and
universities by helping students do procommunist research.).  It troubles me
that while your company allows paid advertising (i.e. free speech) for
communists and pornographers it does not offer the same open-mindedness to a
site such as mine that offers historical "Nazi related memorabilia".

We promote FREE SPEECH on our site, the Nazi threat was eliminated in 1945,
while pornography continues to ravage our society and Stalin's and Mao's
victims outnumbered Hitler's many times over.  This one sided censorship at
a time in this countries history when our rights and freedoms are being
challenged by terrorists abroad and anti-constitutionalists at home seems to
be a very poor business example for families that, now more then ever, value
companies that represent the TRUE American spirit.

Regards,
Michael Kelly

My second reply (at bottom) to Google & their response (at top).

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: "Michael Kelly" 
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 5:38 PM
Subject: Re: Unacceptable Product [#886073]

Michael,

We have told you that we do not permit Nazi-related memorabilia to be
advertised on our site.  This is our policy.

Please be aware that a different set of laws and regulations apply to
commercial speech (advertising) than to the search results we show when
you do a Google search. As a business, Google must make decisions about
where we draw the line in regard to the advertising we accept, both from a legal and company values perspective. Please note that the decisions we make concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver.

Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
From: "Michael Kelly" 
Subject: Re: Unacceptable Product [#886073]
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 05:14:07 -0600

Dear No Name,

Thank you for your reply.  However, you still have not addressed my
original question. Unacceptable Product?  I do not understand how you can find
historical products "unacceptable" for advertising while allowing "sex"
sites.  Interesting form of "editorial discretion".  I stand by my earlier
statement "so much for FREE SPEECH"!

Michael Kelly

My first reply (at bottom) to Google & their response (at top).

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: "Michael Kelly" 
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Unacceptable Product [#886073]

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your email.

In reviewing your account history I see that we addressed this issue with
you in April, 2002.  I have included a copy of the last message we sent to
you for your perusal.

Outgoing Message Actions

From: "Google AdWords Team" <[email protected]>
To: "Michael Kelly" 
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 20:50:48 -0000
Local: Wed, Apr 10 2002 1:50 pm
Subject: Re: campaign ad on google censorship [#248676]

-------------------------------------------------
As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, Google reserves the
right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we
accept on our site. At present we do not accept advertisements for Nazi
memorabilia.

However, Google believes strongly in freedom of expression. We therefore
offer broad access to content across the web without censoring results.
Please note that the decisions we make concerning advertising in no way
affect the search results we deliver.

Regards,
The Google Team"

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
From: "Michael Kelly" 
Subject: Unacceptable Product
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 03:36:34 -0600

Hello,

Unacceptable Product?  I do not understand how you can find historical
products "unacceptable" for advertising while allowing "sex" sites.  So
much for FREE SPEECH!

Michael Kelly

You've seen the Panzers...now hear the Panzerwagenlied!

First Message from Google

Hello Michael Kelly,

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords Select.

To make sure every AdWords Select ad we run is successful for the
advertiser and relevant for our users, our AdWords Specialists review
each ad and keyword submitted. We check that ads comply with the
Editorial Guidelines and that they are designed for optimal
performance. When we find a keyword or ad that falls outside the
Editorial Guidelines, we will disable the keyword or temporarily
suspend the ad until it is revised.

After reviewing your account, I have found that not all of your ads and
keywords meet the AdWords guidelines. The report below explains the
results of my review of your account.

If a keyword has been disabled, your ads will no longer be displayed
for searches on this keyword.

If an ad has been suspended, revisions are required in order to
continue running. Editing and saving your ad will automatically
resubmit it to us for review. To log in to your account, please go to:
https://adwords.google.com/select/

----------------------------------------------
Campaign: 'Campaign #2,' Ad Group: 'Ad Group #1'
----------------------------------------------

AD TEXT:

World War II Movies
Wide variety of movies & newsreels.
Battle of the Bulge - Blitzkrieg!
www.pzg.biz

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision
Issue(s): Unacceptable Product
~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:
-> Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the
advertisement of "nazi memorabilia" on our website. We also do not
permit sites that sell these products to advertise on Google. As noted
in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to
exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we
accept on our site.

----------------------------------------------
Campaign: 'Campaign #2,' Ad Group: 'Ad Group #2'
----------------------------------------------

AD TEXT:

Propaganda Posters
Reproduction historical artifacts.
Check out our special deals!
www.pzg.biz

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision
Issue(s): Unacceptable Product
~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:
-> Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the
advertisement of "nazi memorabilia" on our website. We also do not
permit sites that sell these products to advertise on Google. As noted
in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to
exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we
accept on our site.
---------------------
Read below for definitions of the issues we discovered:

Unacceptable Product: Google believes strongly in freedom of expression
and therefore offers broad access to content across the web without
censoring search results. Please note that the decisions we make
concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver.
---------------------
We're confident these changes will improve the performance of your ads
and increase the return on your investment. For more information on
performance tips and ad requirements, please see:

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team