Google+ Puts Out a Negative Ad

Okay so we all have heard of Google’s umpteenth attempt at social media with their new, not so totally failing Google+. Well they’ve been advertising it a lot since it came out of beta and their newest spot for it is…interesting. It’s highlighting a very real, very negative aspect of social media and turning it into a positive thing. I guess? Watch the link below and see what you think for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sVf3UaZePC8

So, I’m guessing they are targeting men, since most women wouldn’t find having a man stalk them and finding out their interests a good thing. From what I’ve seen and read, the user base of Google+ appears to be a majority of men users, so I guess this is saying with Google+ your stalker-ish behaviors can lead to a relationship, because you can find out about her likes, interests and hobbies, and eventually move up this shallow woman’s (she only begins to like him after she finds out he has a car and ski-house) list of suitors.

If it is targeting men, it certainly seems to be alienating women. It’s one thing for an ad to not appeal to a certain demographic, but this ad would make me want to never join Google+ if I was a women, so I’m not sure many would be too enthusiastic about joining after seeing this ad, but that’s just one 20 year old male’s opinion. Although, maybe women have accepted that creepy guys are a part of social media and this ad is showing them that they can pick them out and alienate them from the rest of their circles.

It probably seems like I’m hating on Google with my last two posts, when in reality they are one of my favorite companies. It’s probably because I hold them to such a high standard that I pick on them. Oh well hopefully we can start seeing some high quality Google ads once they start to lighten up on this Google+ venture. Until then, maybe I shouldn't say too many bad things though, since I am using their blogging service. 

Poking Fun at Apple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNxDd3l0lEU&hd=1

So that spot up there is one from one of the largest phone manufacturers in the world, Samsung. During the spot, Samsung pokes fun at iPhone users and how blindly they will purchase Apple products. It's a very nicely shot ad, but is the message really that good?

If you watch this ad, your basically watching it because you are already a fan of Android. There is nothing said in the ad that really makes you think, "wow, the Samsung Galaxy SII is an amazing fun, with cool features". They mention the big screen, and... that's it. Some could argue that having a much larger screen isn't actually that big of an advantage, as some people prefer a smaller, more portable phone. Personally, I do believe that the Samsung GSII is a better phone, but I've been using the Android OS for over a year now, and have never been a fan of the iPhone, but I digress.

So what was Samsung trying to accomplish with this video? They don't show off the software, the hardware and really just poke fun at a possible target audience and demographic. The first time I watched it, I loved it because that's what the commercial was doing, making fun of iPhone users, but when I took a more critical look at it, you do see some holes in the premise.

On Friday, December 2nd, I was looking forward to going to Google in Toronto and talking about the marketing of the Android operating system in the Canadian market, but unfortunately that part of the trip was canceled. From now on, only time will tell what becomes of the Android operating system (and it's dominating North American market share).