Dive Brief: 

• According to Microsoft and two ad effectiveness firms, the "Scroogled" ads bashing Google have been successful. 
• The ads make claims that Google is exploiting users data and have driven 53% of viewers to seek about more information about Bing as an alternative, according to research from Ace Metrix. 
• Not surprisingly, the brain power behind the negative attack ads idea is a political warrior and former advisor to the Clintons. (These types of negative ads have been going on in politics forever.)

Dive Insight: 

Google is such an all powerful entity, it's hard to imagine negative ads making much of a dent in their traffic, but it's certainly possible. Microsoft is counting just the name recognition from the ads, reflected in the studies from Ace Metrix and Advertising Benchmark, as a big win as they try to step out from under Google's shadow. As for other brands using negative tactics, it's not as likely. The results can be complicated and there is a lot of risk involved so most brands will continue to avoid it.