Jacoub And The Pixel 2's Marketing
Take a look at this ad:
This is the ad most people are going to see for the Google Pixel 2, since it's the one that currently plays before a video starts on YouTube, and you probably already know about the slow death of TV. (Also apparently it plays in movie theaters, but I haven't gone to one in 2 years, so I don't know if that's true or not.)
Now, the ad itself isn't bad. Actually looks like it was made with a pretty high budget. The acting's good, the cinematography is as well, and it's overall more interesting to watch than some 3D model spinning around while quotes and features fly on the screen like so many tech manufacturers like to do nowadays. And although it does talk quite a bit about features that every Android phone made after 2014 can do, it also does focus on features specific to the Pixel 2, like Google Lens or its infinite photo storage.
But that leads us into the real problem with the ad: it gets cut down to less than 15 seconds on YouTube so that cursed Skip Ad button won't appear. I know what you're thinking "Big deal, just cut out the stuff you said any Android phone can do and only talk about those unique features."
Here's the thing, though: They don't.
You know what they do think is important? The Google Assistant. A feature that can be found on any phone running Android 5.0 or above! Yet they talk about how great it is that you can take selfies just by saying take a selfie, which is what Google thinks is a system seller so they just focus a whole ad on that, and play that before every video, annoying everyone who does anything on YouTube ever in the process.
Okay, but what about the ones that DON'T play before every single video? Well, there was one that talked about Google Lens, which I guess is fine, although it you blinked, you would miss it. But then they talk about the camera itself, which is by far the strongest part of the ad. If you want to be an iPhone killer, you've got to focus on that camera, and this commercial does it perfectly. They talk about how it's the best smartphone camera on the market, even mentioning the iPhone by name just be more competitive! Then they talk about its terrific sharpness, amazing contrast, beautiful night shots, and even its selfie portraits, a feature that will get EVERY teenage white girl to flock over to the phone.
nah jk they just say "that's a great shot" twice and end it off at that
But hey, that can't be ALL the unique features they talk about in these ads! They have gotta talk about stuff like that 15 minute charging time or that long lasting battery! But as far as I'm and some tweets I saw are concerned, there's one about infinite storage, one about how it can tell you when to leave, and one about how it can tell you the weather. Is this seriously what Google thinks will sell? Just talking about features that have been integrated in Android for YEARS now?! Well, it won't. But you know what will? How about stop taking these little jabs at iPhone and instead go all in!
Google really wants the Pixel 2 to be an iPhone killer, but they're not really advertising it like that. Instead, they're advertising it like Google is already a well established smartphone brand. Heck, why else would their tagline be "It's a phone by Google?" But it's this confidence that's killing them. Google doesn't have the same brand recognition that Apple does when it comes to smartphones, so saying that a phone is made by Google isn't really to get some people to flock to your product. So how do you do this? Well, how did Samsung become the Android phone brand that the general public actually knows stuff about?
Though years of competitive advertising with Apple that made people think "Hmm, maybe my iPhone isn't that great."
Or, how did Microsoft become popular again with the Surface?
Again, with competitive ads that made them seem less like the "PC Guy" of old and the more powerful, cheaper replacement to an iPad.
If Google wants this kind of brand recognition, they're going to have to get messy and go all in. Roast the iPhone. Talk about how great the Pixel is. The stuff that it can do that the iPhone can't. Heck, maybe even talk about the benefits of Android itself. I mean, don't mention it by name, that would probably drive people away from the phone. Still, talk about how easy it is to personalize it, and how Google actually promotes these apps instead of taking them down like Apple does.
This is the ad most people are going to see for the Google Pixel 2, since it's the one that currently plays before a video starts on YouTube, and you probably already know about the slow death of TV. (Also apparently it plays in movie theaters, but I haven't gone to one in 2 years, so I don't know if that's true or not.)
Now, the ad itself isn't bad. Actually looks like it was made with a pretty high budget. The acting's good, the cinematography is as well, and it's overall more interesting to watch than some 3D model spinning around while quotes and features fly on the screen like so many tech manufacturers like to do nowadays. And although it does talk quite a bit about features that every Android phone made after 2014 can do, it also does focus on features specific to the Pixel 2, like Google Lens or its infinite photo storage.
But that leads us into the real problem with the ad: it gets cut down to less than 15 seconds on YouTube so that cursed Skip Ad button won't appear. I know what you're thinking "Big deal, just cut out the stuff you said any Android phone can do and only talk about those unique features."
Here's the thing, though: They don't.
You know what they do think is important? The Google Assistant. A feature that can be found on any phone running Android 5.0 or above! Yet they talk about how great it is that you can take selfies just by saying take a selfie, which is what Google thinks is a system seller so they just focus a whole ad on that, and play that before every video, annoying everyone who does anything on YouTube ever in the process.
Okay, but what about the ones that DON'T play before every single video? Well, there was one that talked about Google Lens, which I guess is fine, although it you blinked, you would miss it. But then they talk about the camera itself, which is by far the strongest part of the ad. If you want to be an iPhone killer, you've got to focus on that camera, and this commercial does it perfectly. They talk about how it's the best smartphone camera on the market, even mentioning the iPhone by name just be more competitive! Then they talk about its terrific sharpness, amazing contrast, beautiful night shots, and even its selfie portraits, a feature that will get EVERY teenage white girl to flock over to the phone.
nah jk they just say "that's a great shot" twice and end it off at that
But hey, that can't be ALL the unique features they talk about in these ads! They have gotta talk about stuff like that 15 minute charging time or that long lasting battery! But as far as I'm and some tweets I saw are concerned, there's one about infinite storage, one about how it can tell you when to leave, and one about how it can tell you the weather. Is this seriously what Google thinks will sell? Just talking about features that have been integrated in Android for YEARS now?! Well, it won't. But you know what will? How about stop taking these little jabs at iPhone and instead go all in!
Google really wants the Pixel 2 to be an iPhone killer, but they're not really advertising it like that. Instead, they're advertising it like Google is already a well established smartphone brand. Heck, why else would their tagline be "It's a phone by Google?" But it's this confidence that's killing them. Google doesn't have the same brand recognition that Apple does when it comes to smartphones, so saying that a phone is made by Google isn't really to get some people to flock to your product. So how do you do this? Well, how did Samsung become the Android phone brand that the general public actually knows stuff about?
Though years of competitive advertising with Apple that made people think "Hmm, maybe my iPhone isn't that great."
Or, how did Microsoft become popular again with the Surface?
Again, with competitive ads that made them seem less like the "PC Guy" of old and the more powerful, cheaper replacement to an iPad.
If Google wants this kind of brand recognition, they're going to have to get messy and go all in. Roast the iPhone. Talk about how great the Pixel is. The stuff that it can do that the iPhone can't. Heck, maybe even talk about the benefits of Android itself. I mean, don't mention it by name, that would probably drive people away from the phone. Still, talk about how easy it is to personalize it, and how Google actually promotes these apps instead of taking them down like Apple does.
In conclusion, Google kind of sucks at marketing. Oh well, at least some ads on TV talk about the camera.
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