14 DAY TRIAL // Logitech, one of the launch partners of Google TV is trying to build up some hype around the web-connected TV technology ahead of its launch this fall. It started an ad campaign which sounds good on paper. The idea is that TV feels lonely because nobody is watching anymore.
The execution though leaves a bit to be desired. In fact, it leaves a lot to be desired, a creepy, legged TV scaring girls in their rooms is hardly the way to win over people's hearts.
The first two videos in the campaign are not that bad. The idea is simple and easy to relate to. Everyone is on their laptops, iPhones, MP3 players and whatnot and no one is watching TV anymore. And TV is lonely and bored.
Seems like an easy concept to pull off. Someone at the ad agency though it would be a good idea to make the TV more human, easier to relate to. Again, a straightforward idea.
But at TV with a huge eye and hairy man legs is not 'relatable' it's downright creepy. And it's bad enough when he's jumping on the sofa, sneaking into a girl's room and starting to scream is not funny, it's scary.
Logitech is trying to promote its upcoming Revue box, a stand-alone Google TV set-top box. But, hopefully, it's going to start doing a better job than this as the product gets closer to launch.
Google TV was announced at the Google I/O conference earlier this year. The idea of a web-connected TV has been around for years, but implementations so far leave a lot to be desired.
Google TV promises to be better, enhancing the TV experience rather than trying to change it. Google has lined up some big partners, in hardware and retail, and is clearly thinking big with the platform, but it remains to be seen if it proves more successful than its ill fated predecessors.
UPDATE: And here's number four: