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By George Weiner,

It is a rare moment when our collective attention turns toward causes as worthy as ALS. The Ice Bucket Challenge has become an example of the increased awareness and fundraising that can result from the combination of creativity, social media and a compelling cause.

Like all media campaigns, this one alsoÌýhas its cynics. They point to a disconnect between awareness and action, and cite the many people dousing themselves with cold water without any understanding of the disease inspiring their unpleasant bath.

To all of these people I say searches for “ALS” in August just passed Justin Bieber in search interest. What’s more, for 2014, “ALS” searches just surpassed Justin Bieber’s infamous arrest in search interest in the US. After watching Justin’sÌýiceless bucket challenge video, I decided to explore this further using a mix of Google Trends and AdPlanner tools.Ìý