With the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro already on store shelves, it seems strange to hear that the state of Texas is suing Google over radio ads that were used in 2019 and 2020 to promote the Pixel 4. The suit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who alleged in a petition filed with the District Court of Montgomery County that Google “engaged in false,
misleading, and deceptive acts and practices” when it had radio DJs record commercials for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL.
Google wanted radio personalities to lie about their experience with the Pixel 4 series
However, Google knew that the Pixel 4 series had not yet been released meaning that the personal experiences relayed by the DJs had to be made up. Even iHeartMedia realized that Google was misleading the public and asked the company to give each of its radio personalities recording the commercials a Pixel 4 device. Google refused and demanded that the stations play the deceptive versions of the ads.
Google wanted DJs in Texas to lie about using the Pixel 4 even though the phone had yet to be released
The scripts provided to the DJs by Apple focused on the Pixel 4 series’ camera features including Night Sight. The latter allows users to take photos in low-light conditions without using a flash.
The scripts, according to the petition, included typical dialogue like this:
“The only thing I love more than taking the perfect photo? Taking the perfect photo
at night.
It’s my favorite phone camera out there, especially in low light, thanks to Night
Sight Mode.
I’ve been taking studio-like photos of everything…my son’s football game… a
meteor shower… a rare spotted owl that landed in my backyard. Pics or it didn’t
happen, am I right?
Pixel 4 is more than just great pics. It’s also great at helping me get stuff done,
thanks to the new voice-activated Google Assistant that can handle multiple tasks
at once.
I can read up on the latest health fads, ask for directions to the nearest goat yoga
class (yes, that’s a thing), and text the location to mom hands-free.”
Any change from the script had to be approved by Google or its agent. In October 2019, Google’s media buying agent approved changes in certain parts of the script in order to “customize” them to match what was relevant in the life of each radio personalitiy. So iHeartMedia told their DJs that Google was “very strict on saying the script
exact.”
Despite leaking the Pixel 4 months earlier, Google refused to hand over samples of the device to voice talent
Days before the Pixel 4 line was to be released, iHeartMedia said that it was receiving negative comments “regarding the personal endorsement of a product that had never been seen, touched, or used by the endorser.” And that led an employee of the media company to write to Google’s media buying agent. In that letter, the company again requested Pixel 4 units for the voicing talent.
The Texas ad campaign for the Pixel 4 series ended in December 2019. In late January 2020, Google hired iHeartMedia to record and air ads for the Pixel 4 line in five U.S. markets outside of Texas. The media company again requested sample Pixel 4 units for the voice talent, and again was shot down by Google. Eventually, Google provided the DJs with five used Pixel 4 handsets.
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and if found guilty of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act, Google could be fined $10,000 for each of the 2,405 times the ad played in Texas. That means that Google could be on the hook for $24 million.
