In its often overly clever way, Google became a brand television advertiser this month. Here’s the ad:
Now, why do I say backed into? Well, this video was created by some Google employees in Japan (so it’s not an effort by the main company, see?!), and it was an promotion to show off how cool Chrome was (not designed to be an ad, see?!). It was released on the web first (see, not debuted on silly old school TV!), and when the ad got some pickup, Google decided to run it on its fledgling Google TV Ads service, the sole remaining attempt by the company to do Adsensify old media (see, we’re not really doing a traditional media buy!).
But none of this really matters. At all.
Because at the end of the day, consumers watching TV are going to see this ad, and judge it as that, an ad. That means the company, no matter how cleverly it’s thought itself into this execution, has to consider itself a brand advertiser, and act like one as well.
Question is, can it do that?