Google’s newest ad promoting its Gemini artificial intelligence has raised eyebrows among people after it dropped on June 13. The spot, which first premiered on YouTube, stars the decidedly un-fictional Ted. He was born in 1998, the same year Google Search went online. The ad highlights Ted’s change from a high schooler who focused on simple online searches. Now, he’s entirely reliant on the cutting-edge Gemini AI.
In the ad, Ted uses Gemini to search for a James Blunt anniversary show. This journey bridges his impetuous teenage fandom of Blunt’s early music to an extravagant date night in the modern age. The ad features a significant blunder: the music playing during Ted’s journey is not by James Blunt but rather Tal Bachman’s 1999 hit “She’s So High.” Gen X and older millennials are reeling from this egregious misidentification. They argue that the commercial whitewashes musical history.
The backlash against the commercial has been just as swift—withering across social media platforms. This is how viewers responded to the fact that something isn’t right with the ad’s music choice. As one cynical YouTube commenter quipped, “I wish there was a new technology we could use to look up information like this.” One particularly terse commentator pointed out the irony of an AI mistake in a technology-fueled commercial.
A second user quipped, “Was Tal Bachman opening for James Blunt that night?” They joined in disbelief at the mistake and piled on to the already growing list of harsh words. As one commenter noted, “This has to be created by Gemini. They wouldn’t know that She’s So High was Tal Bachman and High was James Blunt even if you told them. This comment points to the frustrating gaps in the AI system.
While it was meant to demonstrate the power of Gemini, the advertisement actually shined a light on its failure to be factually accurate. Especially in a world where TED’s nostalgic experiences with modern technology have really touched the hearts of audiences. The misattribution of the song has all but eclipsed this fascinating story.
