What Was Google’s “Dear Sydney” Olympics Ad About?
Google aired a new commercial called “Dear Sydney” during the 2024 Summer Olympics to promote its Gemini AI technology. The 60-second spot features a father discussing how his young daughter is a huge fan of Olympic hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.The father says his daughter wants to write McLaughlin-Levrone a fan letter expressing her admiration.
“I’m pretty good with words, but this has to be just right,” he states. So he turns to Google’s Gemini AI for help.He prompts the AI: “Help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone how inspiring she is and be sure to mention that my daughter plans on breaking her world record… one day. (She says sorry, not sorry.)
“The ad then shows the AI-generated letter being printed out as the father looks on approvingly. It ends with the tagline “Search on” promoting Google’s AI-powered search capabilities.
Why Did Google’s Ad Spark Such Strong Backlash?
Many viewers took issue with the ad’s premise of a parent using AI to essentially write a fan letter on behalf of his child rather than helping her express her own authentic thoughts and feelings. Key criticisms included:
- Promoting AI Reliance Over Genuine Expression: Critics argued the ad sends the wrong message by suggesting it’s better to have an AI generate a fan letter than to help a child find their own words, even if imperfect. It could discourage kids from learning to write and communicate for themselves.
- Inauthenticity of AI-Generated Emotions: Many felt an AI-written letter telling someone how “inspiring” they are would come across as insincere and generic compared to a child’s own heartfelt message, even if less polished. An Olympic athlete would likely prefer to receive a “real” fan letter.
- Missed Parenting Opportunity: Some saw the father’s choice to outsource the writing to an AI as a missed opportunity to bond with his daughter and help her develop her writing skills. Having the AI write it for her doesn’t provide that learning experience.
- Reinforcing Negative Stereotypes: Certain critics thought the ad played into an offensive stereotype by portraying a minority father as insecure about his own writing abilities and education level, making him feel AI could express his daughter’s feelings better than he could.
What Was the Scale of the Negative Response?
The critical reactions to Google’s ad were swift and widespread across social media platforms and in the press:
| Platform | Examples of Backlash |
|---|---|
| X (Twitter) | Deadspin founder Will Leitch tweeted the ad “takes a little chunk out of my soul every time I see it,” garnering over 3K shares. |
| Lola Bakare, CMO advisor and inclusive marketing strategist, said she was “a little creeped out by the ad” and that the AI letter “ghostwritten” by the dad behind his daughter’s back wasn’t heartwarming. | |
| Threads | One user called the ad “disturbing,” saying the “magic” is a kid writing a fan letter themselves. Another said AI ads in general are “just mortifying.” |
| Press | CNN, New York Magazine, and others covered the backlash, quoting critics who called the ad “one of the most disturbing commercials I’ve ever seen” and that it made them “want to scream.” |
Google even disabled comments on the ad’s YouTube posting, likely anticipating the negative feedback it would receive there.
What Broader Concerns Does the Ad Tap Into?
At a higher level, the strong response to the Google ad reflects growing unease and apprehension around AI’s rapid advancement and expanding role in our daily lives, work, and creative endeavors. Concerns include:
- AI Replacing Human Creativity: Despite assurances that AI will simply assist and augment human efforts, many fear it could diminish or devalue human imagination and creative expression in areas like art, writing, and music. The ad tapped into those anxieties.
- Technological Solutionism: Google’s commercial represented what some see as tech companies’ misguided belief that sophisticated AI tools are the answer to every problem, even things like a child writing a heartfelt letter. But not everything needs to be “optimized” or done by AI.
- Tone-Deaf Tech Giants: For many, the ad felt like the latest example of Big Tech being out of touch with regular people’s lives, coming across as creepy and dystopian rather than helpful or uplifting. That disconnect has bred a growing distrust in the industry.
As Syracuse communications professor Shelly Palmer put it in a blog post, “I flatly reject the future that Google is advertising. I want to live in a culturally diverse world where billions of individuals use AI to amplify their human skills, not in a world where we are used by AI pretending to be human.”
What Was Google’s Response to the Criticism?
Amid the backlash, Google provided a statement defending the intent behind the ad, if not the execution:”We believe AI can be a useful tool to enhance human creativity, but should never replace it. The ad was meant to portray a real story celebrating Sydney and Team USA.
It features a real track and field fan and her father, and aims to show how Gemini can be used as a starting point, an idea generator, or a first draft for people looking for inspiration in their writing.
“However, many felt this response minimized the legitimate concerns raised and didn’t fully acknowledge how the ad’s content diverged from that stated intent. Disabling comments on the YouTube video also seemed to dodgeaccountability.
Conclusion
The heated reaction to Google’s “Dear Sydney” ad underscores the fine line between positioning AI as a collaborative tool versus an inadequate replacement for human effort and imagination, especially when it comes to children.
While Google’s intent may have been to celebrate the Olympics and the athlete, the focus on AI writing a fan letter many saw as better coming from the heart exposed some tone-deafness.As AI continues its rapid march into the mainstream, Google’s ad offers a cautionary tale about the importance of deeply considering the wider implications and unintended messages of the technology’s use cases.
While AI will undoubtedly prove helpful in many domains, the ad struck a nerve by appearing to value artificial efficiency over authentic human expression in a space it didn’t belong. Sometimes, an imperfect but earnest letter means more than a technically flawless one.
