The Super Bowl is here and along with the excitement of the games comes a barrage of impressive advertisements. Google didn't just get valuable airtime with its ad, it got its Google Home devices in viewer's homes acting up.
Google's Super Bowl ad was aired on Sunday and suffice to say, millions got to see what the Google Home is all about. The company probably didn't anticipate that some of these viewers may already have a Google Home at home. Right after the ad was shown, some people went on social networks to relay how their Google Home device acted up after hearing "Okay, Google" in the ad.
A reporter for The Verge was one of those Google Home owners who got "Okay, Google"-d by the Super Bowl commercial. Another owner said his Google Home had a "meltdown" while another stressed that Google needs to "chill it with the "okay Google"-ing".
While this may be seen as a funny incident, it does open some eyes to the possibility of Google Home devices acting up. In fact, this incident is reminiscent of the time a news anchor inadvertently commanded Alexa to order dollhouses for the show's viewers. It all started when a little girl from TX ordered a huge dollhouse and a can of cookies through the family's Amazon Echo. When the story was picked up by local media outlets, one particular news anchor mentioned: "I love the little girl saying 'Alexa ordered me a dollhouse' during his report." The show later received a number of complaints from some viewers who happened to have an Amazon Echo in their home had a dollhouse delivered to their doorsteps.
The Verge reporter Kwame Opam poked fun at the incident by saying that someday, a TV writer or ad maker will plant an "okay, Google" into their work to "force everyone to listen to Nickelback". The "massive troll waiting to happen" is scarily possible especially with AI's such as Alexa and Google Assistant always listening. CNET, meanwhile, takes a jab at how Google seems to be promoting laziness.
