Looks like phishing. Did you check the email headers / URL?

it was valid.

Email says your supposed to talk about it...

So, take a pill and have a drink....

The email is real.

I'd be interested in showing ads for, or related to prescription ness, but not alcohol.

haha .. edge....
I had to decline their offers on our site. i guess they targeted us because we are in the motorsports industry.

get drunk, drive fast and get ----. ahahhahah.. i'm still laughing about it.

Yes, yes yes, Alcoholica ;)

It's real, allright.
Get drunk, take a peni$ pill, and slap on a raincoat. And then, .....
I think not.

I wonder if these are going to be targeted, or just splattered. Other things need fixing, far more than this. I told them recently, "no betas for me", but I guess it didn't take. I haven't seen anything new that I liked in a very, very long time. Only things that reduce my income. Every single one of them, from PPA to interest-based-ads.

[edited by: Sally_Stitts at 10:07 pm (utc) on Mar 12, 2010]

I know the topic will tempt some into making humrous comments. But those comments have been posted and anything more is redundant so let's move on. There are some important issues here.

Reading this thread, I wonder if any who got this invitation had any of those categories blocked already?

Be interesting to know how G chooses who to invite to a BETA test.

(Fat-fingered on my previous post. Dang iPhone keyboard!)

I was saying that I'd be interested in showing ads for prescription meds. If ED meds are a part of that, it would be okay. A lot of folks may be interested in trying a prescription remedy after reading more about it.

Even though my main site isn't adult-themed, it also doesn't target kids, so I'd be all for it.

I have no use for alcohol ads though.

Old guy weighs in with meaningless background...

First, this reminds me of the concerns "back in the day" publishers had about ad networks. We've come a long way.

Second, these categories have always been a problem in the ad industry. And, as a print publisher, I have always had trouble with understanding some of the broad-based objections.

Take, for example, the Super Bowl ads for a certain well known supplier of Internet services. These ads are of questionable taste and effectiveness in the minds of many. Indeed, the firm has had some of its proposed ads rejected by the networks. The category, however, is fine.

At the same time, some of the ads for ED medications are very thoughtful and tasteful. Likewise, most advertising for wines should be acceptable, in my opinion, most anywhere. Samuel Adams' ads for their beer is a straightforward appeal that should not offend anyone.

Again, I very much question the running of ads, while they are very tasteful, of some products which claim health benefits which are doubtful at best.

Objecting to ads from entire categories of products is not good business nor is it appropriate social policy.

Google's move here is overdue.

"You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements."
- George Douglas (1868-1952), British writer

You should have waited a bit, then posted this on April 1st. :)

I was just showing a younger intern in my office friday how Google doesn't show/sell certian ads.
I have a perfect domain I have had listed for sale that is gonna now come to life.

The email stated that it was confidential and not to mention it...looks like that didn't work out too well for them. ;)

I have seen ad copy for pharmaceutical image AdSense ads which stated "no prescription required" ... not sure how those got approved!

How will Google's search engineers claim they are protecting people from irrelevant pharmacy results when they are intentionally delivering the ads?

I got one of these and thought it was a spoof. I went to the google form page and stopped at the point where they asked for my login email address. I thought, why would they ask for this, they know it. So, this is legit, eh? Like others have said, my sites have absolutely nothing to do with the topic matter (ed, condoms, alkyhol)so I don't even know why I'd bother.

Google really seem to be on a slippery slope of late. I wonder what ideals they'll cut free next?

If this email is genuine, we have some domains in that arena that we might activate. We have an inactive account for affiliate in one of these areas. However sometime ago we received an alert from said affiliate management stating that the largest registrar - the one with racy advertising - was deactivating those domains and to move the domains to another registrar. Anyone have any bearing on this?

No luck on poker though? I've got an idea for a poker site I've been kicking around for a few years that I've never built, partly because I'm affiliate-stupid.

If this is true, then it is a shame, and will only tarnish the image of G. Peddling medications should be forbidden everywhere. Medication shouldn't be about marketing, it should be about need.

Half the disorders of the last 50 years have been invented by marketers, just to make money.

ED, Asperger, ADD, the list is huge. Today, whatever you do and no-one else around you does is considered a "disorder".

Anyways, can you imagine the nightmare this will unleash, all these pill ads on adsense network. Horrible.

So these will replace the 'non-profit' ads? :

I guess Google will also get rid of the 'Ads by Google' text (or hide it via a roll-over) as it would not be a good PR to be associated with this stuff :

The Great Depression II is around the corner...

I somewhat doubt that the sky is falling.

1. Opt-in or Opt-out by account? Check

2. Site targeted/restricted? Check

3. Fairly rigorous standards for ad language? Check

Or mabye not.

Maybe that was a chunk of the sky that just landed on my roof.

If this is true, then it is a shame, and will only tarnish the image of G. Peddling medications should be forbidden everywhere. Medication shouldn't be about marketing, it should be about need.

I see nothing wrong with advertising meds. There are plenty of people who need them, and finding more information about them could be helpful to someone.

Like Webwork suggested, I'm guessing any ads pertaining to medications or alcohol will be opt-in/opt-out, and possibly vetted even more than their traditional counterparts.

For the folks who think this could become a nightmare, is it a moral thing, or do you feel the ads are prime targets for spammers and/or illegal peddling?