AdViewGlobal website launch scrubbed. Amid much fanfare, the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf announced it would launch a new website Saturday — and to celebrate AVG would provide what it deemed an “unprecedented” 250-percent matching bonus for members and a corresponding 200 percent match for sponsors.
Problems dogged the launch and members grumbled. The new site appeared online briefly, but members said passwords no longer worked and that data seemed to be missing from the back office.
At least one graphic on the new site — a “walking fingers” logo to which the acronym “AVGA” had been added — potentially raises international trademark and intellectual-property concerns.
Beyond that, however, the use of the “walking fingers” logo commonly associated with “Yellow Pages” sometimes signals a scam. Selling “Yellow Pages” listings on the Internet to create the impression that customers have purchased an ad in well-known, local print publications is one variant of the scam.
Another variant is to send businesses a bogus bill for “Yellow Pages” listings. Because firms frequently purchase such listings and associate the “walking fingers” logo with legitimate print and online publishers, they often pay the bill without looking.
Yet another variant of the scam is to send what appears to be a small “refund” check to businesses for overpayment of a “Yellow Pages” bill. When recipients endorse the checks, they actually are entering into a contract and agreeing to be automatically billed for advertising purchases.
Although it has been reported that the “walking fingers” logo has fallen into generic use in the United States, companies that use it invite scrutiny from state attorneys general simply because there are so many scams involving the sale of “Yellow Pages” listings.
Moreover, “Yellow Pages” is a registered trademark of Telstra, an Australian communications giant. Telstra, as a means of protecting its brand, has been known to zealously enforce its intellectual-property rights and employs attorneys to guard against misuse on the Internet.
Unable to pull off its website launch, AVG reverted to its old site. Some members now say the 250-percent, matching-bonus offer has been replaced by a 200-percent offer that will run through June 29.
AVG and its members have engaged in some curious marketing practices. At least one promoter advertised AVG on a business-exchange website operated by Business Week magazine, by posting a link to a YouTube video for AVG.
In an article last year, Business Week reported on the seizure of AdSurfDaily’s assets, noting that video was one of the things that contributed to the expansion of ASD’s membership roster, before federal prosecutors seized the assets of ASD President Andy Bowdoin amid Ponzi allegations.
The AVG video on YouTube referenced in the promoter’s Business Week ad has been removed, but the ad itself remains.