Mazda buying the 'keys' to Pontiac? Err... sort-of.

Pontiac recently made headlines (well, at least a few) by imploring car shoppers to "Google Pontiac" in television ads and automaker Mazda has apparently taken notice. So much so, in fact, it has set about purchasing competitors' terms like "Pontiac" as part of its AdWords initiative.

By doing so, Mazda is neatly (if clandestinely) maximizing its advertising dollars by buying search-engine keywords that take advantage of what other firms have already done the heavy financial lifting on. In this case, Mazda is leveraging the power of Pontiac's television and print "Google' campaign against itself without paying for it. Apparently, this cannibalizing practice isn't only savvy and hard to track, it's also completely legal.

[Source: Traffick.com]