Google brand ad in the Superbowl..

I’m not American and nor do I have an appreciation of the Superbowl - at least not in same the way that most of our Western Atlantic counterparts have. However, I’ve known for a while that if your brand gets its advertising played in the Superbowl ad break - this is a very big deal. Despite growing media fragmentation, big-catch programming like the Superbowl will always catalyse greater than average reach, ergo it is one of the perfect moments for a big campaign to make its mark. Wikipedia :

For many years, the Super Bowl has had a very large television audience in the U.S., and it is often the most watched television program of the year. The game tends to have high Nielsen television ratings which usually come in around a 40 rating and 60 share (i.e., on average, 40 percent of all U.S. households, and 60 percent of all homes tuned into television during the game). This means that on average, 80 to 90 million Americans are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.

So, it was interesting to hear that Google had its first ever Superbowl spot last week - and it got me thinking.

Do Google even need to advertise?

Google is the ultimate utility of modern times. It’s free, it’s always available and amongst online audiences, used everyday of their lives. And whilst Google is beginning to diversify with the introduction of numerous tools over the years (Maps, Wave, Mail, Buzz etc.) it’s still incredibly focussed - it is the world’s number one search engine. So with such high frequency use and with such a focussed proposition - does advertising really add any value to the Google brand? I don’t think that advertising is necessarily a negative thing to do, but perhaps e a consistently positive user experience is as good and perhaps even more effective than what advertising can provide?

Then again, it’s a brand ad..

There are ads that make you laugh, stare in awe, contemplate and even make you scratch your head. If there is a need and a window of opportunity, then brand campaigns - typically driven by high budget above the line brand communications - can help amplify awareness, communicate brand values and ultimately strike some kind of connection with a consumer. Therefore it makes sense to align your communications with what your brand is all about in the hearts and mind -  brand first, ad second. Google occupies that rational/functional space in the mind and whilst it is a high use brand, it’s not necessarily a high involvement brand- it’s hard to imagine getting passionate or excited about it. So it’s interesting to see a very brand oriented ad from Google which resonates in a more emotional and ultimately more branded space..

What’s it saying?

It’s a rose tinted view of how Google can be relevant. It’s a life reference, showing how Google can help you out whenever you need it for all the things important to you; always reliable, always delivering and always on. It isn’t necessarily about driving people to the engine, showcasing new functionality or offering any other overtly rational reason to buy into Google. It’s just an affirmation of what Google can do for you at various important moments in your life. It adopts - and quite effectively  -  a ‘life and moments’ narrative, a strategy often relied upon by brands whose categories tend to be an everyday affair - finance and banking particularly good examples. A few years ago LloydsTSB rolled out ‘for the journey’ (which continues to this day) and gave LloydsTSB a welcome and credible identity boost amongst its rather bland and faceless high street competitors. The global MasterCard priceless campaign has been running for many years and has even garnered cult status spawning countless internet memes. Although all very different executions - the underlying mechanism is similar.

The stats..

Although initially seeded way back in November, it’s received several million hits over the past few weeks- which is substantial. There’s a lovely irony in an online ad/becoming an above the line ad/becoming an online viral..

This Google ad is simple, to the point and entirely Google. Granted, it’s not particularly exciting - but then again as we know…

Google isn’t exciting.