Google’s Super Bowl strategy—50 local ads promoting AI and one national spot

Google is set to air 51 different commercials during the Super Bowl—50 regional spots in 50 states to promote small businesses that use its AI for work, along with a national spot, the company announced on Thursday. Google released details of the regional campaign for Google Workspace, which will star businesses from Somerville, Massachusetts to Sparks, Nevada. The local TV ads are 30 seconds each and will feature “a small business owner sharing their story about how Gemini is fundamentally changing the way they work,” Google said in its announcement. Gemini is Google’s large language model, the technology that undergirds AI products across its platform, and it’s infused within Workspace’s suite of tools, including Gmail, Docs and Sheets. The local commercials will demonstrate how the businesses use Gemini for everything from design work to social media ideas. Cntrl Studio handled production and post-production work on the local commercials, Google said. As for the national spot, Google will release details about the ad—including the product featured—next week. During the past three Super Bowls, Google has run commercials focusing on its Pixel phone. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Click here Since its release in 2023, Google has featured Gemini prominently in its marketing. Gemini powers AI-generated search, chat assistants, image generation and other features embedded in Google products. There has been a proliferation of AI from the tech platforms, including Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, but marketing these new products has been a challenge. Brands try to demonstrate why people should embrace AI assistants, while some consumers have been skeptical of the technology. Its use in creative industries, such as advertising, has led to fears it will replace jobs. Also read: What the DeepSeek AI frenzy means for marketers In August, Google pulled an ad from its Olympics rotation after criticism about how it depicted the utility of AI. In the ad, a father used Gemini to help his daughter write a fan letter to her favorite athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Lavrone, but some consumers reacted negatively to how it promoted using a machine for such a human moment. In November, Google launched a campaign showing people communicating with Gemini on Pixel phones. That campaign highlighted how people could connect more closely with the technology. For the Super Bowl, Google is trying to show that AI is helping millions of businesses across the U.S. with the 50 distinct stories. One of the commercials features Joe the Architect, an architecture, design and brand firm run by Joe Stromer out of Somerville. “Joe relies on Google Workspace to manage and grow their business,” Google said in its announcement, “and uses AI in Gmail to manage his inbox.” Another local spot features Wisconsin Cheese Mart in Madison, which uses Gemini to “build email marketing newsletters and draft product descriptions for their website,” according to Google. Meanwhile, Ace Sign Co, in Springfield, Illinois, “started leveraging Google AI to transform its design mock-up process,” Google said.

Google’s Super Bowl strategy—50 local ads promoting AI and one national spot

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