Why Google's Heart-Wrenching 2024 Super Bowl Pixel Ad Captured The Internet's Heart
Every year, some company makes a Super Bowl ad that manages to really grab viewers' attention. Back in 2018, for example, it was Tide with its series of spoofed commercials, and in 2022, it was Meta with its dark and depressing ad about a world that abandoned in-person gatherings for ones that happen in virtual reality. We haven't seen anything so uncomfortable during Super Bowl 58, but viewers have crowned Google's Pixel 8 spot the most heart-wrenching of the bunch, with many users across social media responding via crying emojis and GIFs. Google has also been praised for helping educate the public about a common misconception — that someone who is blind only sees black, which is often not the case.
The commercial centers around a feature called Guided Frame, which makes it possible for individuals who have low vision to snap high-quality images thanks to a mix of AI and voice prompting. Titled "Javier in Frame," the ad features a voiceover from Stevie Wonder, who explains, "For many people with blindness or low vision, there hasn't always been an easy way to capture daily life." Viewers are given a look at the world as someone with impaired vision may see it, which makes the usefulness of Google's AI feature all the more apparent.
The feature is exclusive to the Pixel 8
Google has long emphasized the use of AI and advanced software features in general with its Pixel line. Early on in the product's life, for example, the Pixel smartphones were distinguished by something called computational photography, which enabled them to take fairly high-end images despite featuring (at that time) only a single camera. Fast-forward several years, and the relatively new Pixel 8 phones are the latest on the market — and, as with the models that came before it, they pack some special features not yet available to just any Android user.
Guided Frame is one of them, and as demonstrated in the commercial, it works by guiding the user so that they're able to position the phone in the best spot to capture the images they want. One example is Javier, the subject of the commercial, with his pet. Google's AI correctly identifies the faces of both a person and a dog, using voice prompts to help Javier capture a selfie with his canine companion.
The Pixel 8 spot marked the Super Bowl commercial debut of director Adam Morse, who is blind, according to Google. If you fell in love with the commercial or are simply curious how it was made, Google has you covered: there's a behind-the-scenes look (above) at the production on its Made by Google YouTube account. After watching that, check out some of the other commercials from Super Bowl 58, including Volkswagen's black-and-white look at its past.