…for its core property, search. And it’s pretty good (it’s a series of well produced ads, on YouTube, natch). I’ve predicted for some time that Google would have to start brand marketing itself, but so far I’ve only seen product marketing for Adwords or Android. This is the first time I’ve seen a real ad for Google.com search. See it below. (I noticed this because the teaser banner, above, was running tonight on my own site through Adsense…)
Watching the series (which were uploaded to YouTube two months ago), it strikes me that Google is being pretty thoughtful here about what its brand means, and how search is changing in both its interface and its usage, and the power it has to change lives. Many Google properties are referenced, including mobile search, maps, universal search, YouTube, and more.
Update: I’ve now seen this campaign on the NYT as well, roadblocked. It’s truly a brand campaign: Google is not selling anything here other than its own brand – that ephemeral sensibility that resides between its customers’ ears.