Google Home Disses Amazon Echo on Modern Family
An Opinion
I recently saw The Alliance episode on Modern Family. I know I am late, but it’s Friday and I am finally catching up on my DVR. Yes, it’s still unacceptable.
The episode was funny, but the more interesting part was the clandestine stab by Google on Amazon.
Did you notice it? It was brillant.
If you watched Season 8, Episode 8 of Modern Family, you probably caught Google Home making an appearance on the show at least twice (were there more?). Product placement is not uncommon on our beloved TV shows, but Google’s sly aim at it’s competitor was slick.
Product placement is used by advertisers to subtly promote their products through non-traditional means. Clearly, Google Home’s strategy was a moderate success as it was trending on Reddit and activating actual devices in people’s homes.
Again, my favorite part of the show was when Google made fun of Amazon. Google claimed that the Amazon Echo was merely a reflection or copy of Google’s voice activated speaker. Watch minute 7:55 in Episode 8 and you can catch a new character, April, making fun of Hailey as she repeats or in this case echo’s something her mom says.
The advertisers did a good job of trying to frame the word “echo” as unoriginal and redundant.
So, if you find yourself feeling good about ordering Google Home instead of the Amazon Echo this Holiday season, you will have Modern Family to thank.
For those of you wanting to compare the products side-by-side, CNET has a good review.
