So, this is pretty unbelievable news.
Very quietly, over the last two weeks, some of our country’s biggest search engine companies have moved their operations over to Russia. Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are among these companies. The news hasn’t been publicly announced yet, but we managed to get an early scoop.
Why the move? Our sources tell us it boils down to money—specifically, taxes. The owners of Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other Internet companies escaped to Russia for tax benefits. President Vladimir Putin allowed them to establish operations there and enjoy tax-free status, but only under one condition: that they rename their companies after him.
Here’s a sneak peek at the companies’ new branding.
Google is now “Puugle”:
Yahoo! is now “Yahpu!”:
Bing is now “Puting”:
And we actually managed to get an exclusive look at the new Puugle home page! Check it out at www.puugle.com.
Needless to say, this is going to have unpredictable, far-reaching ramifications for the whole online advertising industry. So stay tuned for updates as this story develops.