Bing 218
Debut
Bing's debut featured an $80 to $100 million online, TV, print, and radio advertising campaign in the US. The
advertisements do not mention other search engine competitors, such as Google and Yahoo, directly by name; rather,
they attempt to convince users to switch to Bing by focusing on Bing's search features and functionality.[42] The ads
claim that Bing does a better job countering "search overload".[43]Bing Rewards
Launched by Microsoft in September 2010, Bing Rewards provides credits to users through regular Bing searches
and special promotions.[44] These credits are then redeemed for various products including electronics, gift cards and
charitable donations.[45] Initially, participants in the program were required to download and use the Bing Bar for
Internet Explorer in order to earn credits; however, this is no longer the case, and the service now works with all
major browsers.[46] The Bing Rewards program is similar to two earlier services, SearchPerks! and Bing Cashback,
which have now been discontinued.The Colbert Report
During the episode of The Colbert Report that aired on June 8, 2010, Stephen Colbert stated that Microsoft would
donate $2,500 to help clean up the Gulf oil spill each time he mentioned the word "Bing" on air. Colbert mostly
mentioned Bing in out-of-context situations, such as Bing Crosby and Bing cherries. By the end of the show, Colbert
had said the word 40 times, for a total donation of $100,000. Colbert poked fun at their rivalry with Google, stating
"Bing is a great website for doing Internet searches. I know that, because I Googled it."[47][48]Los Links Son Malos
An advertising campaign during 2010, Los Links Son Malos (English: The Links are Bad), took the form of a
Mexican telenovela, with people conversing in Spanish, subtitled in English. In it, somebody rides in on a horse and
takes a woman away when he shows her how easy Bing is to use in order to get movie tickets or travel.Search deals
As of Opera 10.6, Bing has been incorporated into the Opera browser, but Google is still the default search engine.
Bing will also be incorporated into all future versions of Opera.[49] Mozilla Firefox has made a deal with Microsoft
to jointly release "Firefox with Bing" [50], an edition of Firefox where Bing has replaced Google as the default search
engine.[51][52] However, the default edition of Firefox still has Google as its default search engine, but has included
Bing in its default list of search providers since Firefox version 4.0.[53]
In addition, Microsoft also paid Verizon Wireless $550 million USD[54] to use Bing as the default search provider on
Verizon's Blackberry, and in turn, have Verizon "turn off" (via Blackberry service books) the other search providers
available. Though users can still access other search engines via the mobile browser.[55]Name origin
Through focus groups, Microsoft decided that the name Bing was memorable, short, easy to spell, and that it would
function well as a URL around the world. The word would remind people of the sound made during "the moment of
discovery and decision making."[56] Microsoft was assisted by branding consultancy Interbrand in their search for
the best name for the new search engine.[57] The name also has strong similarity to the word 'bingo', which is used to
mean that something sought has been found or realized, as is interjected when winning the game Bingo. Microsoft
advertising strategist David Webster originally proposed the name "Bang" for the same reasons the name Bing was
ultimately chosen (easy to spell, one syllable, and easy to remember). He noted, "It's there, it's an exclamation point
[...] It's the opposite of a question mark." This name was ultimately not chosen because it could not be properly used