Ask Jeeves Gets Fruity With Marketing Efforts

First it was apples and oranges, now it’s bananas; search engine Ask Jeeves on Thursday struck a deal with DOLE Fresh Fruit Co. (DOL) to stick its logo and questions on 100 million bananas.

The deal, part of the company’s national branding campaign, is aimed at expanding Ask Jeeves’ (ASK) reach and increasing awareness about the information available at the company’s Web site.

The stickers will feature a picture of Ask Jeeves’ signature butler and questions like “What nutrients are in bananas?” and “What’s a recipe for banana cream pie?”

The latest fruity initiative follows Ask Jeeves’ other produce pushes, which put questions on 15 million apples in the fall and 60 million oranges beginning in March.

“Our national branding campaign is focused on demonstrating how valuable Ask Jeeves can be as a resource for answers to the questions people have in their daily lives,” said David Hellier, vice president of marketing for Ask Jeeves.

“Our partnership with DOLE will enable us to reach a large number of people who may not realize the wealth of information available on the Web.”