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Does Google's great new ad have a secret message for China?

It's communicating a simple message about Google's new phone. Or is it?
Written by Chris Matyszczyk, Contributing Writer
google-pixel-3-4.jpg

Full of hidden meaning?

ZDNet

It's been following me around.

Every time I watch an NFL game or a Major League Baseball playoff, there it is. That song. That ad. That message from Google.

Actually, it's quite a mesmerizing little thing.

Should your life have not been invaded by this oeuvre, it shows people taking bad photographs and describes how Google's new Pixel 3 phone can fix them with its Top Shot feature.

To underline the joy it brings, Frank Sinatra croons in the background his classic Let Me Try Again.

A wonderful choice, you might think. The Pixel 3 gives you a second chance to get the perfect photo without having to lift a finger.

If only it could correct all your mistakes in life that way.

I confess the song has been constantly in my head. I've been humming and even singing it at inappropriate times. Such as in the line at Starbucks, in the elevator at parking lots and in restrooms at airports.

Yet the more the lyrics have embedded themselves in my brain, the more they've spawned a pulsating conspiracy theory.

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I can't help but wonder whether this is Google's secret message to China.

Once, the Do No Evil company turned its back on China and its censorship habits. Now, the Evil Is OK As Long As It's Not Really, Really Bad Evil company is making overtures to launch a censored Chinese search engine.

Please, then, consider the lyrics of this song in that context:

I know I said that I was leaving,

But I just couldn't say good-bye.

It was only self-deceiving

To walk away from someone who means everything in life to you.

Also: 17 ways to recycle or sell your smartphone TechRepublic

See what I mean? Google appears to be admitting to self-deception, an idealism gone bonkers.

Then there's these lyrics:

I was such a fool to doubt you,

To try to go it all alone.

There´s no sense to life without you.

Now all I do is just exist and and think about the chance I've missed.

Indeed, without a Chinese presence Google is limited in the amount of data it can grab for advertising purposes.

It tried to go it all alone and now it's missing out on all that revenue. And here it is, fully confessing just what a bad decision that was.

The lyrics to Let Me Try Again do really say it all. For example:

Also: The first Android phone was an ugly thing, and I loved it CNET

To beg is not an easy task,

But pride is such a foolish mask.

Yes, once Google was full of pride. Now, it's just another business trying to make as much money as it can.

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