Google has launched its first television advertising campaign across a range of US networks.
The company’s TV adverts are an attempt to draw the public’s attention to Chrome, the web browser that it launched last year in an attempt to compete with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
The company has famously avoided traditional marketing in the past – indeed, its website boasts that it has become “one of the world’s best known brands almost entirely through word of mouth”. But Google is desperate to raise the profile of Chrome, which launched to great fanfare last September but has so far failed to make major inroads on its competitors.
According to statistics from Net Applications, Internet Explorer continues to win the browser wars with a market share of 66%. In second place is Mozilla’s Firefox, which is used by 22% of web users, while Apple’s Safari program comes third with 8%.
Chrome, meanwhile, is the choice of just 1.4% of internet users.
It remains to be seen how mainstream audiences will respond to the clip, however, which has no voiceover, does not mention the fact that it is advertising a web browser and only displays the Google logo at the very end.
Bobbie Johnson’s critical worry is not key. The only people who are about to install and change their web browser – are people who know what a web browser is. A non-issue.
What do you think of the commercial?
“The only people who are about to install and change their web browser – are people who know what a web browser is. A non-issue.”
EXACTLY.
This Japanese commercial *might* work in Japan, I don’t know.
In USA it is more like this:
People like this don’t know what is a web browser. Why would they download something they don’t know of.
“The Internet” is right there – the big e on their desktop. That’s all they know.
Nerdtastic!
Chrome does not handle the various login/password programs (norton, roboform, etc.) Also, I can’t get it to work with WIN7RC.
Why is Google always white type in a orange box on this site?
And only the first time you look at the page at that.
I like chrome and would use it more if Foxmarks (now Xmarks) worked with it. I don’t like not having my bookmarks sync’d anymore.
Chrome is not my first choice. I really do not like where Google has gone with information sharing. But I agree with those that say anyone even remotely interested in browsers have already made their mind up for one reason or another. If you look at market share on just PC’s in browsers. You have your Internet Explorer user’s and then you have your Firefox user’s. The rest are sigle digit percentage of really geeky people who try everything. But really it’s still a two browser race.
FireFox users are not going to change to any other browser that doesn’t have all the add-ons.
No native Linux version. No deal.
How come the colors of the bouncing icon are the same as for windows media player?
Keep trying to like Chrome, but no Adblock and too simplified – things I know how to do in Fox and IE are hard to figure out or undoable in Chrome. Oh, it’s fast especially for Gmail and such.
Doesn’t matter how good Chrome is, since it’s written by Google it’ll most likely be feeding my Google masters all my info for targetted advertising. Why would I want to use anything that does that?
If the objective is to raise general public awareness of Chrome, the ad is a case of fail. It’s creative but does nothing to explain what Chrome is let alone any benefits barring it’s simplicity.
The competition is fighting back.
Please install our spyware!!!
Considering Download Statusbar and Personas (Okami, fuck yeah) are my only real add-ons, I still can’t really look at Chrome as a real contender. The inherent multi-process concept (why IE is losing share in the first place) and increasing share of Google running everything on your computer is dangerous. At least MS was straightforward about wanting to provide everything as a client-side service.
I rather like the browser. The whole simplicity ethos is quite appealing. I use it some of the time, but mostly stick with Firefox.
If Google make a deal with hardware manufacturers to pre-install it, or if they create their own OS for cheapo/free with a subscription netbooks then I could see them grabbing a nice chunk of the market very rapidly.
Google have put a Chrome advertisement on the homepage (sort of violating their usual simplicity ethos) which I’d imagine billions of people saw. The TV advert isn’t going to be more effective.
Give me a reason to try it.
My daughter and I use FF. The kid will occasionally use IE for some sites that don’t render properly in FF. The Mrs. uses Opera only. I like the security, the Mrs likes the simplicity.
If Chrome is better than we are currently using, tell us why it is before I’ll even think of trying it.
Are they trying to sell a browser or Breakout?
Can I get to the same internet with Chrome as I can with AOL?