So Father’s Day is almost over, but it isn’t too late to view Google’s 2021 Father’s Day television commercial. A father is concerned about the relationship he has with his teenage son Jake. So after asking Google what to do and striking out after asking him a question about school, dad turns to YouTube to view a video called “How to communicate with your teenage son.”
Once again, the father sends Jake the same questions and once again Jake refuses to answer his dad’s queries or even acknowledge his presence online. Seeking something to hold on to, Jake’s dad sets a reminder so that he can tell himself that this is just a phase that his son is going through. He also asks Google for help speaking to his son about bullies, relationships-any topic really (without yelling).
Jake fails to answer a phone call from his dad irritating the old man who then starts a rant about the point of owning a smartphone. He sets a reminder to stop yelling at Jake, and sends him a meme of a dog on the phone saying “Helloooooooo Are you there?”
Aiming for the heart, Jake’s Dad calls in the heavy artillery and asks Google to send his son a photo showing the two having fun and smiling ten years ago. “Just a reminder,” the father writes, “I love you.” Finally that draws a response from Jake who we can tell is responding thanks to the “typing awareness indicator” that is now available over Google’s RCS (Rich Communication Service) chat (which has many of the same features as Apple’s iMessage).
Google puts up the tag line, “A little help with the little things.” And for those dads out there, we hope you had a Happy Father’s Day.
