Google’s “Oops” May Lead Tourists Astray

by nicole ~ November 19, 2008

A few weeks ago the shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square changed its look again, the outside wrapped in a giant advertisement for Google, the inside plastered with Google maps directing pedestrians to various locations across the city.I noticed the maps myself and thought “cute idea” but didn’t pay much attention beyond that.  Well, as this blogger on AdAge points out, some tourists might be remembering Google for a long time, but not necessarily in the way Google intended. Instead they’ll be remembered for getting New York City tourists lost!

Apparently one of the ads suggests travelers get on the 1, 2, 3 train at Grand Central to head to Madison Square Garden.  Any seasoned subway rider can tell you the 1, 2, 3 train does not go to Grand Central (though some may wish it did), but this could be a confusing piece of information for out of town travelers.

This blunder may negate the confidence Google hopes to build in their map feature, but at the same time it creates attention the ads may not have garnered otherwise.  While I don’t suggest creating false ads, here I am writing about them, and so is AdAge and a number of other bloggers.  You might read one of these posts and point the ad out to your friends and have a chuckle, which you otherwise might not have done either. 

The real question is what Google will do about these ads.  While this mistake may not be the hottest water they have ever been in, I haven’t seen or heard anything about these ads being corrected.  If Google would like to restore faith in their mapping system, it would probably be a wise move.

Nicole Amato is an Account Executive at Mediashop PR and a graduate of Northeastern University with a BA in Journalism.