Booble is at it again. Infamous for its April Fools Day spoofs, the adult search engine picked as the butt of the joke this time Time Warner-owned Internet service provider AOL.
“Time Warner announced today it was spinning off its AOL subsidiary in an all-stock transaction with privately held Booble.com,” proclaimed a press release submitted last week but embargoed until March 31. “Booble founder and Chie Executive Officer Bob Smart will take the reins of the combined company, which will henceforth be known as AOOL.”
Booble’s inaugural stunt in 2004 was a parody of search giant Google. The joke initiated retaliatory legalese from Google, which claimed Booble infringed its trademark. The matter was settled amicably later that year after Booble revised its site’s design to dispel any confusion between the two search engines, and “we’re all bosom pals now,” according to Smart.
In fact, the furor raised by Google put Booble on the map—which isn’t exactly the result the search giant initially sought.
In 2005, Booble struck again with an announcement that it was going public, much as Google had done the previous year.
“[In 2006], we’re going to acquire (well, you know, pretend to acquire, or fantasize about acquiring) AOL from Time Warner,” Smart told AVN Online in an email. “…[Many surfers] will be looking for that sort of thing, and you know we at Booble love to give the people what they are looking for. The fact that it is at the expense of a mega-company that really deserves a good tickle makes it even more delish.”
Because April Fools Day is on Saturday this year, Booble’s AOOL spoof began running at midnight Friday, March 31. Smart said it would remain on the site throughout the weekend. AOOL’s logo incorporates Booble’s signature breast-shaped double Os, and its mascot takes the form of AOL’s familiar “running man” with a prominent erection.
“We think he will appeal to more women this way,” Smart quipped.
How the joke will play at AOL is anybody’s guess, since AVN Online was sworn to secrecy and could not contact AOL representatives before this story was published.
Smart dismissed rumors that his company might target Cox Communications or Microsoft Corp. in the future, although he did suggest the Redmond giant change its name to Macrohard.
“Branding is everything,” he said, “and small and flaccid won’t ever get in with us.”
