"It's Pixel, Actually"

26 November 2025

60s

Yes but no, actually.

This ad for Google Pixel is an eye-catchingly brilliant creative idea and it highlights an eye-catchingly brilliant dimension of the advertised phone, making it a perfect piece of advertising communication. Even at the age of 35, actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster is still recognisably the character he played in 'Love Actually' at the age of 12, and, in this ad, he portrays himself as someone still dining out on his role in it.

It's a supremely judged piece of self-deprecation, and director Mike Warzin makes the most of Brodie-Sangster's willingness to send himself up. The inclusion of other moments designed to remind the audience of 'Love Actually', as well as a cameo from Martine McCutcheon, mean that the film's writer/director Richard Curtis can probably claim to have had a bigger influence on Christmas advertising this year than ol' John Lewis himself. After all, 'Love Actually' was also the basis of the widely admired Waitrose ad.

What's especially excellent about this ad though is the way it uses the comedy to ensure we notice a powerful USP about the advertised product. A camera phone with 100x zoom? Really? Yes, really... and it's the kind of feature that could persuade iPhone devotees to rethink their life choices.

Coming up with an idea that lands a point about a product feature at the same time as being entertaining in its own right is hard, and that's why it doesn't happen very often. The combo has been achieves with élan here, so hats off to all.

UK

Mobile Phones