Google has faced a lot of resistance when it comes to ‘integrating’ Glass into society, and having it be recognized as just another device that you carry, but instead of carrying, you wear it. By now, all of you should know what Google Glass is, but if you forgot some, here’s a quick recap. Glass is a small computer that sits on your head, supported by and attached to a frame that resembles (and sometimes is, if you have them) a pair of glasses, but normally without lenses. The device looks a little like a sci-fi-esque heads-up display, with a small screen that is in front of the top right corner of your right eye. It connects using the Bluetooth signal from you iPhone or Android smartphone, and is a convenient way to interface with both your phone and the Internet and its data.
The trouble comes in the form of societal resistance, that’s you and me, average Joe and Jane. We have reservations about a camera (since it has a camera) being able to ‘look’ directly at you and capture you on digital film with no warning, and thus no privacy. Other issues have arisen as well, but how ‘inhuman’ some people look while using Glass is under fire in Google’s latest ad campaign for Glass. The ad in question is a special Father’s Day-oriented affair, and it’s an interesting take on both advertisement and mind-changing. Here’s why.
Society has coined the term ‘Glasshole(s)’ for Glass users, and written the product off as a stupid fad that risks privacy of everyone the person sees or can see, and limitations of where and when you can wear Glass have even been imposed globally (obviously, places like movie theaters, where you could film the film, and other places like that). The users of Glass feel and recognize that Glass is not just going away any time soon, however much society may limit or ridicule it, and Google still wants interest in the project and product to rise, for greater testing ability (since the project is still technically in a semi-limited beta-ish phase). The ad by Google, obviously honoring the dads of the world for the children they love, raise, and play with. The ad shows dads, Glass-clad, filming themselves spinning their children by the arms in big circles, much to the laughter and enjoyment of the children.
The ad, though the only text is the word ‘GLASS’ at the end, to let you know what product it’s actually advertising, speaks volumes if you consider what it means, rather than what it says. The message of the ad, to some, may be that even dads use Glass, and they’re still a dad like any other, just with Glass, and some others may feel the message is that “dads make the world/their kid’s/kids’ world(s) go ’round”. Either way, the point of the ad, the end goal, is to show that Glass users are humans, father, sons, daughters, wives, mothers, husbands, workers, sporty, and hundreds of other things, just like you and I. No weird mindset, no superiority complex, just ordinary people with an extraordinary device. Remember, that ‘Glasshole’ you see out walking might be a father, and especially today, let’s thank those fathers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmAQi3C0-50