Trade union uses PPC to attack Marks & Spencer

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The Guardian and Times both report that the trade union Unite has launched a 'cyber attack' on Marks & Spencer.

It seems that Unite has managed to target searches on 'Marks and Spencer' and 'M&S' to deliver a message complaining that the retailer has encouraged discrimination amongst workers in the meat packing industry.

It feels like a PR coup rather than a genuine 'cyber-attack': I haven't been able to see Unite's ads for any M&S related term and targeting brand terms would be a clear infringement of M&S's trademark protection on Google.

Still, it's an interesting story - and brands without effective trademark protection would certainly be vulnerable to this kind of action in the future. 

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