I’m all about tearjerkers, but that doesn’t mean that I’m blinded by my feelings. I actually enjoy analyzing the manipulation of emotions just as much as being manipulated emotionally, as strange as that sounds … which is exactly what I did with Google Maps’ video ad, which I found in an AdFreak article.
This ad, which was released by Google Maps one month ago, is about the true story of Saroo Brierley. After being separated from his family in India and adopted by a family in Australia, Saroo finds his way back home with the help of Google Earth 25 years later. There were some things that the video was lacking, such as info on his book describing the entire experience, but I still got goosebumps watching this video.
What caught my eye was this part from AdFreak’s article on the video:
“You will cry. You will forget that it’s an ad for Google. You will also forget about Google’s privacy concerns and how eerie it is that your blind date can see every detail of your house before you meet.”
It’s so true. I sure wasn’t thinking about the controversy over one’s privacy online – I was too busy celebrating the happy ending of Saroo’s journey. Who could ever have predicted how life-changing Google Earth could be for an entire family?
And in this case, I believe it’s okay for us to put aside our protest about our privacy for once and just appreciate this miracle of a story. There are times when you should fight for what’s right, but there are other times when you should simply be thankful for what we have today before you start complaining about the things that were unimaginable only decades ago that we now take for granted. Like Gizmodo’s article says, this story carries a sentimental and striking message about the power of Google and of the Internet itself. It’s a message that our generation really needs, and I couldn’t agree more with it.
“[H]is story is a good reminder that the internet isn’t all leaked cell phone pic and cat memes.”
I feel like this ad probably helped out the story of Saroo Brierley and his book more than Google Maps. I sure wouldn’t have known about this story had I not seen Google’s video. All the reviews I’ve seen so far have been nothing but positive. I can’t wait to pick up this book from the library and give it a read.
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