Child trumpeter gets into treble as €100k Google bill hits crescendo

6 Oct 2016

Child playing trumpet. Image: IndigoLT/Shutterstock

Google’s AdWords service confused a young Spanish boy to such a degree that his attempts to promote his brass band ended up costing €100,000.

In one of Google’s more adorable incidents, the tech giant has decided to waive the €100,000 AdWords bill that trumpet player Jose Javier accumulated in error recently.

Looking to raise money for his brass band, Javier believed that the more people that clicked on the ad he created, the more money he would have to invest in instruments.

AdWords Trumpet

Sadly for the boy, the opposite is true, and the popularity of his pay-per-click ad was such that, pretty quickly, the €100,000 figure was hit.

Luckily for the Spaniard, Google has a generous side, saying “it was all a mistake and he did it without thinking. A 12-year-old boy doesn’t want to start spending €100,000”.

Jose’s mother Inma Quesada was interviewed by Spanish daily El País, saying her son “wanted to buy instruments” for his band called Los Salerosos (The Salties), in which he plays the trumpet.

The kid’s savings account was used to set up the original AdWords account, and it was only when his parents received a call from their bank that the penny dropped.

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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