Google hoping Chrome glitters on television

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 11 May 2009 at 13:39

Google has launched its first television advert, as it seeks to raise the profile of the Chrome browser.

Despite becoming one of the world's best known brands, Google has resisted traditional marketing campaigns. Indeed, much of its success has been built on word of mouth - with terms such as "just Google it" finding their way into common usage.

However, more than six months after Google launched Chrome, the minimalist browser is still struggling to make headway against its rivals. Figures from Net Applications reveal that global Chrome users represent fewer than 1% of the browser market, a long way behind the 71% majority held by Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

In an effort to push Chrome back into the public's consciousness, Google had made its move on the airwaves. The 30-second clip uses stop-motion animation and is based on the classic videogame Breakout, in which a ball is bounced off a paddle to smash through a wall of bricks.

In this case, the wall of bricks is the usual screen clutter than accompanies browsers and is knocked away to reveal the clean lines of Chrome.

The ad was initially created for the web by a Google team in Japan, and never explains that it's advertising a browser. Google's name doesn't even appear until the end.

Nonetheless, Google is optimistic it will serve its purpose. "After releasing this video on the web, we got lots of positive feedback and thoughtful comments," says a post on Google's Official blog.

"We talked to our Google TV Ads team to see how we could show the video that our Japan team developed to a wider audience in a measurable way. Using some of the results from our placement-targeted ads on the Google Content Network, we designed a Google TV Ads campaign which we hope will raise awareness of our browser, and also help us better understand how television can supplement our other online media campaigns."

This is not the first time Google has experimented with strange videos to promote Chrome. Last week it released a series of short clips eulogising the benefits of the browser on its own YouTube channel.