Google’s Super Bowl ad demonstrates why technology is so good at breaking down barriers

The smartphone has become our most personal device. We can leave home without our wallet, but we can’t leave home without our smartphone. It has become an extension of ourselves, our digital eyes, ears and thoughts than extend beyond what we can physically do, from what we perceive of the world to what the world perceives of us.

For better or for worse, the smartphone has changed the way we live, and I feel nothing translates this notion better than this ad by Google.

The commercial was released in conjunction with the 2019 Super Bowl. It’s a sweet 1-minute tribute to the power of language and understanding each other despite our differences.

The ad opens with a voiceover: “More than 100 billion words are translated every day”

The voiceover continues, “words about food, words about friendship, about sport, about belief, about fear, about hurt and sometimes, divide.”

As the ad moves along, you see people using Google Translate in a multitude of situations, almost of it are no different from how I use the service – to communicate with people in a foreign land in a way that is natural to them.

The commercial then ends with, “but every day, the most translated words in the world are ‘how are you,’ ‘thank you’ and, ‘I love you.'”

Google has made this possible and the technology has become so good that using it is now seamless and actually helpful. You are now truly a citizen of the world, language is no longer a barrier to hinder you from experiences and culture.

The Google ad perfectly encapsulates this, and I love it.

Interesting sidenote: The commercial was created in house by Google Creative Lab.