The commercial starts simply.
A delicate piano melody plays in the background. The classic white Google search engine dominates the screen. Keystrokes resonate as an invisible computer user types words that have largely defined the pandemic – or rather, life – for most people in the past year: quarantine, social detachment, school closures and blockade.
But it is what follows that seems to have affected many. Google’s announcement first aired during the NCAA’s Final Four game on Saturday and people on social media were quick to notice how it made them “emotional” or even “cry” over the message it conveyed.
Tell me why Google’s commercial for the covid vaccine thrilled me during the Final Four game
– Read fan account 1 (@FoxtrotMcCoy) April 3, 2021
I’m the only one Watching a Google commercial during Final Four and crying!?!? Wow!
– Scott Rains (@scottrains) April 4, 2021
I didn’t expect a Google commercial to move me during a Final Four game, but what are the rules?
– aimee (@ LAimee76) April 3, 2021
After the brief but clear reminder of the tribute the virus caused, music increases in speed and familiar sounds emerge – school bells ring, chatter among a group of people, laughter from a crowd – as words are highlighted and promptly deleted search bar and Google Calendar. Happy Hour and game dates are no longer virtual, weddings are no longer postponed, nor are sports seasons canceled. And a theater and restaurants displayed on Google Maps change from “closed” to “open”.
It ends with a simple message, also the commercial title: “Go back to what you love.”
But it is also a call to action: get vaccinated. The final clips show a user typing the words “covid vaccine near me” and then a link to cdc.gov encouraging the audience to learn more.
When Amanda Litman, Run for Something’s co-founder and executive director, said she was “absolutely furious” because a Google ad made her “cry”, Marvin Chow, vice president of global marketing at Google, responded quickly.
“Whatever it takes to protect us,” Chow wrote back.
See the ad for yourself:
Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @ shannonlarson98.