Robin Hood 2004? Ask Jeeves Takes from the Advertisers and Gives to the Red Cross

100% of Profits from RedCross.Ask.com to Be Donated
There's a thread in Webmasterworld about Ask Jeeves' latest promotion in which you visit a special subdomain and all profits are "donated" to the Red Cross. At first it seems like a generous gesture on Ask Jeeves' part, but it's a gesture that may be done at the expense of Google AdWords advertisers. The problem is that Ask Jeeves' program might incentivize web surfers to click on an ad for the purpose of donating an advertiser's ad budget to the Red Cross. Most online marketers may not appreciate the thought of thousands of well meaning surfers clicking on ads with the intention of helping to raise money for the Red Cross.

Follow the Money
There are charitable websites, like Working Assets' Shop for Change, that encourage people to buy something through their affiliate link, with the commission part of the sale donated to designated charities. Ask Jeeves program is different: Web surfers do not have to make a purchase to do their good deed. Because of this, the website visitors might have an incentive to click on an ad to do a good deed, without cost to themselves. Not only that, but it is feared that many of the website visitors visiting that subdomain will be there expressly for the purpose of clicking on an ad to generate "donations" from Google AdWords advertisers . Many AdWords advertisers may be upset to consider that scenario.

An Army of Ad Clickers
According to the Senior Vice President of Growth and Integrated Development for the American Red Cross:

"So, tell a friend. Tell a family member. Then start searching and giving. Ask Jeeves has made it simple to make a difference in the lives of others..."

That is precisely what might scare the hell out of advertisers on AdWords' network: An army of web surfers going to Ask Jeeves to search, and then clicking on ads to help hurricane disaster victims.

Ask Jeeves Does Not Explicity Incentivize Ad Clickers
To keep the record straight, Ask Jeeves never explicitly says that the trigger for creating a donation is to click an ad. Ask Jeeves is not explicitly encouraging people to click on ads. Their press release only encourages people to visit the site and search. That's it.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not saying you're right either.
According to Steve Berkowitz, the CEO of Ask Jeeves:

"Now people can contribute just by going about their everyday searching,"

If a searcher clicks on an ad, then yes, money leaves an advertising budget and is deposited in the bank account of the American Red Cross. If you happen to click on a non-sponsored search result, then the Red Cross receives nothing. If a surfer clicks on a sponsored listing, a so-called donation is made. But is it really a donation? The answer depends on the searcher's motivation for being at redcross.ask.com. Are they there to search, or are they there to help raise money for the Red Cross' hurricane relief fund?