Is Google’s Chromebook viral video really one of the best ever?

Google faced a difficult task when it came to the digital marketing of its new laptop, the web-only Chromebook. A revolutionary product, some might say that the Chromebook is a little ahead of its time. Its reliance on the web is undeniably clever – but are people ready to make the leap to cloud-based computers for personal computing?

Consumers who don’t yet know their cloud from their internal hard drive are bound to have questions about a laptop lacking familiar features such as a desktop background.

To solve this problem, Google has made fantastic use of video with a series of ads that utilise the format’s favourite ingredients: simplicity and humour.

Why keep it simple? This is a complicated product, and consumers demand quick and easy answers. Video is the ideal medium for a potentially complex sell – people ‘get’ visuals.

And why use humour to sell laptops? An ad that manages to educate while also entertaining will be remembered, and potentially become a viral video. While Google may not scoop any marketing awards for this campaign, it deserves recognition for cracking the notoriously difficult task of demystifying new technology for the progress-wary consumer.

The ads sit just the right side of cute and quirky, and we love the seamless incorporation of Google’s brand colours into the animation. And what does the digital community think? Last night, ‘Introducing the Chromebook’s’ top YouTube comment read: ‘One of the best adverts I have ever seen’. Who needs awards?