If you watched The Grammys last night, you might have seen a new commercial for Google+ called “New Dad”. I was doing dishes at the time and wasn’t watching the TV, but listened. The commercial starts out with a male voice describing how he took a bazillion pictures of his new baby and how when he lost his phone he thought all of those pictures were gone.

My immediate thought was “Is this a commercial for Apple’s iCloud?”. Nope, it’s a Google+ commercial touting the auto-upload feature of its app, which as this commercial describes, could be an absolute lifesaver.

Google’s television ads are getting better and better, taking a page out of Apple’s book when it comes to making the human element more important than the actual technology behind its features. According to Google’s Bradley Horowitz, the story is true:

Instant Upload has already saved my own precious photos numerous times..

This commercial is really moving. Especially since it’s based on a true story from one of our team mates.

Here’s the new commercial:

While I’m not saying that Google is ripping off anyone, even the fact that these commercials get their own names is reminiscent of Apple. Two new Siri ads just hit television screens, both offering up how Siri makes our lives better. With Facebook yet to make a consumer splash over the airwaves, Google seems to be taking the opportunity to let people know why Google+ could be a service for them.

Could the “That’s a plus.” marketing campaign make a big difference for Google’s budding social network? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Early last month, Twitter revealed its new focus on simplicity and it caught some of Twitter’s hardcore users off guard. The site has become more streamlined to better serve new users who are just learning about the micro-messaging platform, and that’s a good thing.

During its redesign announcement, Twitter introduced us to something new for advertisers called “brand pages“. These pages feature a customizable header and the ability to make on tweet stick to the top of the timeline, as a way to introduce prospective followers to the brand.

At the time, a mix of 21 brands launched their brand pages, but not much was known about why or how they were added to the launch group. According to an AdAge report, we might know now.

According to the report, Twitter has sent emails out to its top advertisers and announced that it will be adding more brand pages starting February 1st. The only ask? That you already have $25k in Twitter’s ad ecosystem, be it for sponsored tweets or trending topics, just to be qualified. Of course Twitter have blessed some charities with brand pages for free, so it doesn’t appear that non-profits will have to buy their way in.

Not much is known about how effective these brand pages are, like the one above from Nike. However, it appears that Twitter is dangling the feature out there as an added incentive to get advertising dollars from new blood. By offering this incentive in the way that it has, Twitter comes off looking pretty desperate to make $25k. On Facebook, companies don’t have to pay any money at all to have a business presence on the platform.

This latest brand page thing sounds to me like the new verified account, as it’s something the company can toggle on and off in hopes of making a company feel special on its platform. In my opinion, it’s going to take a lot more than that.

Earlier today, we reported on the launch of Google’s new consumer outreach program around guarding your privacy online, called “Good to Know“.

The program is both web-based and will reach out to people in every major corner of the country in newspapers, magazines, as well as New York and Washington DC subway stations. According to USAToday, one of the publications the ads are running in, the campaign is costing Google a pretty penny.

How much? When asked, Google would only share the dollar amount as “tens of millions”. With some calling this nothing more than a PR maneuver to make good with the FTC, Google disagrees. When asked about how genuine the Good to Know campaign is, Google’s director of privacy Alma Whitten had this to say:

We all have family and friends that ask us for advice on privacy and security all the time. Those recurring questions made Google realize it should do something to give everyone a better grasp on the fundamentals of online privacy.

If any company knows the pitfalls of poor communication about privacy, it’s Google. During 2010 the company had back-to-back missteps with privacy issues over its Buzz and Street View products.

Executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, Jeff Chester, isn’t buying the “kindness” Google is putting out there with its ad dollars though:

This campaign should be nominated for some kind of award for fiction. If grades were given out for privacy protection, Google would get a D plus.

Maybe after consumers see the ads in the wild and visit the Good to Know site, that grade can be upped to a solid C. Social networking giant Facebook seems to discuss privacy in a more cost effective way, on its blog.

Today, Google announced a new initiative from its ad team called “Why these ads”. The reason behind the feature, the company says, is to bring transparency to ad targeting. The feature is available now for ads shown within search results, and will be rolling out for ads in Gmail soon.

Advertising is at a crossroads online. With content flowing, companies are trying to find new ways to make ads relevant and attractive to consumers. Google wants to show you a little bit of what’s in its secret sauce.

Here’s what Google had to say about consumers interacting with Google ads:

Our advertising system is designed to show the right ad to the right person at the right time. Because ads should be just as useful as any other information on the web, we try to make them as relevant as possible for you. Over the coming weeks, we’re making improvements to provide greater transparency and choice regarding the ads you see on Google search and Gmail. Soon, you’ll be able to learn more about these ads by clicking the “Why these ads” link next to ads on Google search results and Gmail.

Here’s a video about the two new transparency features from Google:

Along with “Why these ads”, Google now offers an Ads preference manager.

Why these ads

If you wonder why you’re targeted with certain ads, Google will now do its best to tell you why. Of course it has to do with what you search and click on, but showing the “why” is a smart move by Google. If consumers trust the ads, they will be more apt to click and act upon them.

This is what Google had to say specifically about “Why these ads”

“Why these ads” gives you transparency
The perfect search ad answers your query and gets you what you’re looking for quickly. When you click the “Why these ads” link, you’ll find information about why you’re seeing a particular ad and how it’s personalized for you. If you’re searching for a local restaurant while you’re on vacation in Hawaii, you would see ads for restaurants that are nearby, rather than restaurants in your hometown. Or if you’re researching flat-panel televisions, and performing a series of similar searches in quick succession, you could see ads based on the query that you just entered, or based on a few recent and related queries within a single browser session. By considering the language you’re using, your geographic location and various other indications, we’re able to show you the best ads possible. We’ve been showing ads in this way for years as a way to help you quickly find what you’re looking for.

Ads preference manager

Along with showing you why you’re seeing certain ads, you will now have access to an “Ads preferences manager“. The preferences manager lets you decide which ad providers are blocked, and gives you the opportunity to opt-out of personalized advertising altogether. Clearly that’s not something that Google wants, but surfacing it as an option certainly is putting it in the hands of its users.

This type of interaction with advertisements that you see online is the only way that big companies like Google and Facebook can get you interested in them again. Of course Google lets you “+1″ an ad that you find interesting, but it’s unlikely that ads alone are worth sharing. The reasoning behind why you saw a specific ad? Now that’s something to talk about.

For one of Sony’s latest advertisements, the company aimed to create an ad that emphasised a pure sound experience and highlighted their passion for sound . Ad agency Fallon were assigned the task, and the result involved transforming the Icelandic town of Seydisfjordur, with a population of 800 people and almost no traffic, into one giant soundspeaker system.

In a short film, titled Soundville, the companies document three days in the life of the town after the transformation. No actors were used in the film, so the viewer gets to see how the townspeople reacted to sounds and echoes generated through the pervasive sound system. The results are pretty remarkable to say the least.

Oh and if you’re wondering how they came up with the idea, Fallon’s Juan Cabral, who also masterminded Sony Bravia’s color-filled Balls idea, said:

“I was buying milk while listening to Stockhausen on my headphones. I felt everyone should be listening too.”

Genius.

via PSFK via Creativity Online