Google wants to get you excited for the Oscars with an awesome new Pixel 3 and Home Hub ad

by Adrian Diaconescu / Feb 23, 2019, 4:21 PM

One of the reasons why Google is seeing healthy growth in both the US smartphone market and global smart speaker industry is probably the search giant's increasingly aggressive marketing. Pixel handsets have been plugged by everyone from Ellen DeGeneres to Eminem since the third generation was unveiled, while Macaulay Culkin made a rare appearance a couple of months ago in arguably one of the smartest holiday commercials from a tech company in recent memory to promote the Google Home family.

Ahead of the Oscars on Sunday, Google has a sweet new treat for film buffs and tech enthusiasts alike, inserting its various devices in iconic scenes from Academy Award-winning movies... as well as "The Hangover" and "Scream." The Pixel 3, Google Home Hub, and Google Home Mini pop up in all kinds of surprising places, but the most surprising thing is said gadgets don't really feel out of place in "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Lady Bird", or "Jerry Maguire."

There's even a hilarious appearance by a superhero movie character near the end of the 60-second ad that we aren't going to spoil for you. Let's just say the guy has quite a mouth on him, although he ain't afraid of showing his soft side too, dedicating more time to calling his grandma than cameoing in presumably lucrative commercials like this one embedded at the very top.

Of course, it'd have been cool if Google referenced an actual 2019 nominee in what's essentially a pre-Oscars publicity stunt. Then again, the Home Hub would have had a much harder job blending in with the action in "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Favourite", or "BlacKkKlansman." Meanwhile, Wakanda is a far too technologically advanced territory to make use of a phone packing just 4GB RAM.