??? 最近有消息稱微軟（Microsoft）、雅虎（Yahoo）和美國在線（AOL）正計劃展開廣告銷售業務合作。三家公司是不是為了試探市場反應而有意放出的風聲呢？

????如果真是這樣，那么市場的最初反應并不樂觀。上周三，科技網站AllThingsD透露，來自三家公司的高管們于上周二晚，在曼哈頓的一場晚宴上向“一些頂級的網絡出版商和廣告買家”介紹了合作計劃。看來他們對合作計劃并非三緘其口。

????上周四，《廣告周刊》（Adweek）發表文章稱，微軟的一位發言人透露：“我們相信選擇、公開和競爭有助于促進市場創新。正因為如此，我們一直在數字廣告生態系統中尋找合作伙伴，探索合作方式。我們的目標是提供創新的解決方案，讓廣告商和出版商都能從中受益。不過，我們目前并不打算提供更多細節。”

????換句話說：我們確實正在進行籌劃此事，而且我們已經準備好了推廣口號。不過，在確定市場的批評會有多尖酸刻薄前，我們并不打算正式公布計劃。

????到目前為止，市場的批評之聲不絕于耳。《廣告周刊》的基利?梅?赫斯納稱，該雜志采訪了一些媒體買家，他們一致認為，這個計劃“有點絕望的味道”。

????買家們并未看到此項合作能給自己帶來太大的好處，他們想知道在處理所謂的“第二等級顯示廣告”方面，這三家公司能比外部廣告網絡強多少。當然，他們能獲得更多收益，不過他們必須將系統整合到一塊運作，而且還必須讓銷售人員為自己的競爭對手兜售廣告。

????此外，廣告合作還可能帶來另個麻煩——出于反壟斷考慮，美國聯邦政府一直在密切關注在線廣告業務。三家聯盟可能會招來監管者的注意。在正式公布計劃之前，三家公司也可能是在試探政府的反應。

????此次涉及的廣告是這三家公司無法獨自銷售的顯示廣告。目前，這部分廣告由廣告網絡運作，當然，這些公司要從中分成。這次合作將讓三家公司留住并分享所有收益。

????微軟的參與無疑給這次合作加了分。假如只有雅虎和美國在線合作，那么看起來更像是孤注一擲之舉，因為這兩家公司如今都風雨飄搖。微軟想要搶谷歌（Google）的生意，但假如這次合作不成功，對微軟來說問題并不嚴重，因為其大部分收入來自軟件。但對雅虎和美國在線而言則是件大事，因為兩者的業務都倚賴廣告，而谷歌正日漸成為廣告市場的主導者。

????譯者：項航

????Could the news that Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO) and AOL (AOL) are planning to join together to sell ads on each other's sites be a trial balloon –- a leak designed to test reaction?

????If so, the early responses aren't so encouraging. AllThingsD broke the news on Wednesday, reporting that executives from all three companies made a presentation to "a group of top Web publishers and ad buyers" at a dinner in Manhattan on Tuesday night. Not the epitome of stealth.

????In a statement to Adweek today, a Microsoft spokesman said: "We believe that choice, openness and competition help drive innovation in the market. As such, we are always looking for ways to partner with others in the digital advertising ecosystem to offer innovative solutions that benefit advertisers and publishers. However we have nothing specific to share at this time,"

????In other words, yes, we're doing this, and yes, we've already got the marketing boilerplate prepared, but no, we don't want to officially announce it until we see how caustic the criticism will be.

????Pretty caustic, so far. The idea has "a whiff of desperation about it" is the consensus of the media buyers interviewed by AdWeek, writes that publication's Ki Mae Heussner.

????Those buyers, who don't see much advantage for themselves in the arrangement, wonder how much better the companies will be than outside ad networks are at handling so-called "Class 2 display inventory." Yes, they'll get more of the revenue, but they'll have to make their systems work together, and they'll have to get their sales staffs to sell ads for companies that are, after all, supposedly their rivals.

????That brings up another potential problem -- the federal government is closely scrutinizing the online advertising business for antitrust concerns. This alliance could draw regulators' attention. The companies could be testing those waters, too, before formally announcing the plan.

????The ads in question represent leftover display inventory that the individual companies can't sell on their own. Currently, such ads are handled by ad networks that, of course, take a cut. This arrangement will allow the three companies to keep all the revenue and share it among themselves.

????The presence of Microsoft no doubt helps. It would look even more desperate if it were just Yahoo and AOL, both of which are faltering. Microsoft wants to take business away from Google (GOOG), but if this doesn't work out, it won't be a huge deal to the company, which makes most of its money on software. It's a much bigger deal to Yahoo and AOL, whose businesses depend on advertising, a market that Google increasingly dominates.