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    PBS Makes Ad Buy For 'Big Bird' on Twitter

    By Seth Fiegerman | Mashable – Thu, Oct 4, 2012

    PBS could teach other brands a thing or two about how to turn a meme into a marketing opportunity.

    [More from Mashable: 26% of Debate Tweets Said Obama Looked Rusty]

    During the first presidential debate last night, Mitt Romney admitted that, "I love Big Bird," but still wants to withdraw government funding from PBS, the television network that airs Sesame Street among other popular shows.  The Internet quickly rose up to defend Big Bird with all sorts of Photoshopped tributes, fake Twitter accounts and even some fundraising campaigns.

    Rather than ignore the meme, PBS has decided to make an ad buy for the phrase "Big Bird" on Twitter. Those who search for the "Big Bird" on the social network will see an advertisement for PBS at the top, which says, "PBS is trusted, valued and essential." The ad then directs users to check out valuepbs.org, a website full of statistics about the network's reach, public service initiatives and how much it really costs taxpayers ($1.35 a year.)

    [More from Mashable: Lady Gaga Is First to Hit 30 Million Twitter Followers]

    PBS isn't the first company to use Twitter to take advantage of a political meme. Last month, President Obama's election campaign team purchased the word "literally" on Twitter after Vice President Biden was criticized for saying it too frequently during his speech at the Democratic National Convention.

    Image courtesy of Flickr, EvelynGiggles

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

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