Google and Dilbert Doodle Together

Cartoonist Scott Adams Unleashes Dilbert on Google’s Homepage Logo

NEW YORK and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – May 20, 2002 – Dilbert, the world’s most recognizable office worker, appears this week on the homepage of Google, the world’s best loved search engine. Beginning today, Dilbert and his pointy-haired boss will pursue their mission of redesigning the logo on Google’s homepage (www.google.com).

"Dilbert has had a large influence on Google’s management style," said Sergey Brin, co-founder and president of Technology, Google Inc. "I am planning to adopt a pointy hairdo."

"This partnership exceeded my wildest dreams," said Scott Adams, Dilbert creator. "I hoped I would get a free Google shirt, and I got three of them plus a mug."

An office-appropriate keepsake honoring Dilbert’s work on Google’s corporate identity will be available, as well. This week only, fans may purchase a limited edition coffee mug featuring Dilbert and his coworkers and the Google logo they devised, by clicking directly on the Google logo or by visiting www.comics.com/comics/redirect/google_cafepress.html.

Google’s homepage doodles reflect Google’s unusual corporate culture, where nothing is taken seriously except for search. Since the company’s founding in 1998, Google has altered its logo to commemorate holidays, events, and international celebrations, including the Burning Man festival, the Olympics, Bastille Day, and Piet Mondrian’s birthday. A selection of past Google logos can be found at www.google.com/logos/.

About Dilbert

Dilbert, the United Feature Syndicate comic strip, is the most photocopied, pinned-up, downloaded, faxed and e-mailed comic strip in the world. Many readers, particularly those employed at large corporations, are convinced that Adams works at their companies since he conveys corporate inanities so perfectly in his comic strip. Dilbert appears in 2,000 papers in 65 countries and 25 languages, and on the Web at www.dilbert.com, which receives over 1.4 million unique visitors per month. More than 20 million Dilbert books and calendars have been sold to date and more than half of Adams’ books have made The New York Times best-seller list. What Do You Call a Sociopath in a Cubicle? A Co-Worker is set for release this fall. The first original Dilbert hardcover book by Adams in over four years, Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, will be released this October.

Much more than just a wildly successful cartoonist, Adams is also an entrepreneur, producer and nonfiction author. He holds a BA in economics from Hartwick College, Oneonta, N.Y., and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He has worked at a number of – in his words – "humiliating and low-paying jobs" involving technology and finances, including stints as a bank teller (he was robbed twice at gunpoint), computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager and commercial lender. He is also a certified hypnotist.

DILBERT is syndicated and licensed by United Media. United Media (UM) is a worldwide licensing and syndication company that focuses on building brand equity around a wide range of creative content. UM recently partnered with the LEGO Company to represent its new television series, Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension. UM licenses and/or syndicates other properties, including PEANUTS, Precious Moments, the Copyrights at United Media portfolio (The World of Beatrix Potter, Paddington Bear, etc.), Raggedy Ann & Andy, Dilbert, 2GRRRLS, Nancy and Sluggo, MIFFY, and Rainbow Fish. United Media is an E.W. Scripps Company.

About Google Inc.

With the largest index of websites available on the World Wide Web and the industry’s most advanced search technology, Google Inc. delivers the fastest and easiest way to find relevant information on the Internet. Google’s technological innovations have earned the company numerous industry awards and citations, including two Webby Awards; two WIRED magazine Readers Raves Awards; Best Internet Innovation and Technical Excellence Award from PC Magazine; Best Search Engine on the Internet from Yahoo! Internet Life; Top Ten Best Cybertech from TIME magazine; and Editor’s Pick from CNET. A growing number of companies worldwide, including America Online, Yahoo! and its international properties, Sony Corporation and its global affiliates, Netscape, and Cisco Systems, rely on Google to power search on their websites. A privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif., Google’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital. More information about Google can be found on the Google site at www.google.com.

Contacts:

Melissa Menta
United Media
(212) 293-8506
mmenta@unitedmedia.com

Eileen Rodriguez
Google Inc.
(650) 930-3535
eileen@google.com

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Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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