Unlikely pairings of animal friends made for a smash-hit commercial for Google, the web search giant and maker of the Android operating system for phones and tablets. These animal duos frolic and have a great time while Roger Miller’s song Oo-De-Lally from Disney’s version of Robin Hood plays in the background. The odd animal pairings in “Friends Furever” include: a cat nursing chicks, dogs and cats, a baby rhinoceros and a sheep, a sheep and an elephant, a dog and an orangutan, a dog and a dolphin, a cockatoo and a husky, a horse and a monkey, a lion cub and a lemur, and a tiger and a bear. These all made for cute, memorable imagery that guaranteed the ad’s success.
The commercial’s closing message is “Be together. Not the same.” That is to say, love each other but at the same time, be yourself. A positive and uplifting message like that is always a good thing to have in a commercial. But it’s also said to be a subtle jab at Apple Computer and its products. Android can be run on devices made by any company while Apple’s iOS only works on phones and tablets made by Apple. It’s possible that this barb was a little bit too subtle: as one advertising professional explains, his clients often want to “talk to themselves,” making in-references that the general public won’t understand. Still, even if the high-tech jousting didn’t register for a lot of us, the animals and their friendships brought smiles to our faces.
We’ve posted “Friends Furever” for you below. If you haven’t seen it already, you’ll soon understand how this utterly charming ad has racked up more than 30 million views, and that’s just on YouTube.
Did you see this commercial when it first came out or did you somehow miss it? Are music and cute animals the perfect way to get something to stick in your mind? Let’s hear from you in the Facebook comments and be sure to like and share!
https://youtu.be/vnVuqfXohxc
