Would Google Sell the Doodle?

Google has a long history of changing it’s logo to commemorate historical events. And some have been quite elaborate. Certainly, they always get noticed by its users and the media.

Consider that Google’s main source of revenue is from its AdWords program, a product that displays contextual advertisements that cost the advertiser only when someone clicks on the ad and only as much as the advertiser is willing to bid for the click.

But what if Chevrolet wanted to commemorate a historic milestone with its Corvette by introducing a new model. Would Google be willing to sell the homepage doodle logo?

It gives Google a product similar to a Super Bowl commercial, but can be sold on any day of the year.

Here are some issues to consider:

1. Doodles are a special event, so Google couldn’t sell the logo every day. Maybe once a month otherwise it would lose its power.
2. Superbowl commercials cost around a million dollars for a 30-second commercial. Google’s doodle would probably reach an audience about 10-20 times the size, not including the residual PR.
3. Would Google only allow “iconic” brands or “historic” companies to effectively hijack the doodle for the day?
4. How would your impression of Google change if they infrequently sold this prime ad placement? Would you start questioning the validity of the unsponsored results?

Funny that when making the image above, there happened to be an Ad for the new Verizon Droid below the search box. First time I noticed that.