Have you ever watched a TV ad and thought, “How did this get approved?” Today, Google has released not one but two new ad spots for its Pixel 10 phones, and they may not come across as intended.
The first ad, “With 100x Zoom,” seems to suggest that if a vacation rental company lies about the view from your room, you should lie to your friends and family too. The YouTube description clarifies, “So even if that breathtaking view you were promised turns out to be miles away, now you can zoom your way to a photo that makes it look like you were right there.” However, the ad acknowledges that what viewers are seeing is “simulated,” “for illustrative purposes,” with “additional hardware” used.
The second ad, “Moving on,” is a 30-second spot from the perspective of a jilted phone. The script suggests a phone noticing the user moving on to something new, prompting some viewers to hear it in the voice of Joe from “You.”
The disembodied male voice in the ad raises questions— is it really about “moving on,” or is it reminiscent of an AI-powered Joe Goldberg watching the woman through her phone?