Google’s video ads for its new Chromecast device are simple, fun and highly effective.
Yesterday, Google introduced its latest device, a tiny, USB-looking gadget called the Chromecast which enables you to stream content from your laptop, tablet or phone onto your television. It acts much like Apple’s Airplay feature, but at $35 a piece, it is noticeable cheaper than the $100 Apple TV, and more importantly, it can be used across all platforms.
Here’s the benefit of having a new product to promote, in stark contrast to Apple’s recent video ads which took a lot of criticism for being self indulgent and boring, Google has smartly positioned itself as the fun and simple option, an image Apple enjoyed regularly. Take a look at some of the new ads it has rolled out to promote the Chromecast, which Wired describes (at least on paper) as “the best device Google has ever announced.”
It’s a lesson in great visuals enabling great storytelling. The videos are short, but focus on one element, Bigger. And the device installment looks laughably simple, just plug in and play. By using pop-culture references and focusing on the content, Google manages to actually step out of the limelight and make it about the user’s experience, something Apple claims to do in its latest ad but ends up achieving the opposite.
