Ask Jeeves butler reclaims his dignity

Ask Jeeves unveils its redesigned, rebranded Ask.com site today, and the butler is officially history. But after his years of faithful service, the butler has earned some non-subservient R&R, and the search engine is giving him five possible retirement options: space tourist, vineyard owner, cabana bartender, yachting enthusiast or guy who “jumps a motorcycle over a tankful of man-eating sharks.” The yachting lifestyle looks the most attractive, at least among people who have voted on the special Jeeves Retirement page that’s been set up to send him off. If you really think Jeeves has made your life better, you can also sign a card for him on the site (“See ya, Jeeves. Have a nice life!”) and read his retirement memo. There’s even a farewell video. As dot-com-boom icon exits go, this guy’s getting a far better deal than the Sock Puppet did.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

February 27, 2006 | Permalink