Google tries to get tear ducts going with COVID-19 vaccine ad

While the U.S. is thankfully in the vaccination part of the ongoing pandemic, less than 19% of the population is fully immunized. Whether it’s the slow rollout or a personal decision to not get a vaccination, there’s a need to have more information out there to get people to sign up to get the vaccine. Google’s latest ad wants to help get the word out that if you want to get your life back to normal, you have to go out and get vaccinated.

The ad is in the tradition of most Google ads, meaning it’s a simple showcase of what people are searching for the past year and we see the usual quarantine, social distancing, lockdown, school closings, etc. But this time around, the words are slowly being erased, particularly the words virtual, canceled, postponed, in party, meeting, playdate, event, wedding, etc. The ad also includes places that were formerly closed and are now being edited as open.

At the end of the one-minute ad, you get a simple message: “Get back to what you love.” And the next frame is a search for “covid vaccine near me”. And scene. It’s a simple enough message and some people’s tear ducts were triggered by the ad, especially those that have been missing all the in-person activities and are looking forward to when things can get back to a sort-of normal. It’s still a long way to go in the U.S and even other countries but vaccinations means there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

In case you didn’t know it, Google has a lot of information about covid-19 vaccinations. Aside from the nearest vaccination site, you get information about the qualifying factors, what side effects you can expect, whether you can do a drive-in or you need to set up an appointment, and other information in case you’re still not convinced you should get it. Google Maps also shows vaccination sites and maybe even a filter.

So far, the Google ad has more than 11 million views on YouTube. Hopefully, this is effective enough not just to make people tear up but for them to actually go out and get vaccinated, or at least do more research about the COVID-19 vaccine.