In a first for Google’s Chromebook division, the company took a massive hit at its main rivals, Apple and Microsoft, in an ad that mocks the various errors users might encounter on Macs and Windows 10 laptops compared to the smoothness of Chromebook notebooks.
The commercial arrives just in time for the busy back-to-school shopping season, when plenty of people shop for new school gear, including Chromebooks. And Google, of course, sells one of the most expensive Chromebooks out there, the Pixelbook that was launched just last year. On top of that, many Windows laptop vendors also sell plenty of Chrome OS devices.
The ad is similar to all those anti-iPhone commercials we see from Samsung these days. Samsung, which is very much afraid of Apple, comes up with strange reasons to criticize the best-selling smartphone in the world and promote its Galaxy phones. Google, on the other hand, has a desktop operating system that’s quite popular and it’s giving plenty of headaches to both Apple and Microsoft, especially in the critical school department.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xryaZF1Z4w
Unlike Samsung, Google isn’t only focusing on the bad stuff happening on rival platforms, but also makes sure to actually promote its latest product, giving the viewer plenty of examples of why Chromebooks are a better choice than Macs and Windows 10 PCs.
That doesn’t mean Google ad is perfectly legitimate. I hardly get any errors on Mac, although the odd beachball does pop up here and there. Similarly, Windows 10 offers an experience that’s a lot more polished than before. Not to mention that all the errors that you’d get on either platform aren’t nearly as recurrent as this ad would have you believe.
All the other Chromebook features that Google promotes, like anti-virus protection, fast updates, all-day battery life, fast boot and performance, and lots of apps, are also available on both Mac and Windows 10 PCs. And all MacBooks and many Windows notebooks offer better designs and build quality than most Chromebooks, expensive Pixelbook not included.
Furthermore, while Google is quick to tout its simplified operating system, it’s worth remembering that Chromebooks, no matter how expensive, aren’t really able to match everything a Mac or a PC can do.
Then again, Google didn’t start all this, as Microsoft mocked Chromebooks many years ago. But Google’s ad shows that Google is very much aware of the increased competition in the laptop business, especially now that Apple and Microsoft launched cheaper iPads and Surface laptops, respectively, to compete against Chromebooks. And yes, it’s obvious that Google ignored the iPad, because, in its view, the Chromebook is better than a Mac.
