Kevin Bacon, Google TV savior?

“Logitech Revue is powered by Google TV™, which means you can watch what you want, wherever it comes from, all on your HDTV.”

Really? You can? Sign me up! The Logitech Revue and Google TV will be your savior, thanks to devoted stalkerazzi Kevin Bacon stalking... himself. This spot seems to do more for Logitech than it does Google TV, because the Revue takes on a seemingly easier problem. Namely, figuring out how to let remote control nation surf and watch TV without lugging a computer over to the couch. (Oh, they’ll lugalaptop, maybe. But even that gets uncomfortable.) The real issue is whether Google TV is finally the all-in-one service the industry keeps promising and viewers wait for – or another one-stop entertainment fail.

The ways people access content are becoming more fragmented and less efficient because of the multiple platforms now available to view that content. Assuming you had a compatible DVR and the HDTV this service requires, there are still gaps in your viewing experience. See what you want when you want it? Not quite. If I want to catch a rerun from last week and didn’t DVR it, I have Hulu, *if* they have the show I want. Netflix lets me stream some movies, but then, they’re hardly the latest releases. For that, I need to snail mail them. In that case, I’d rather hit Redbox to get current titles for free with promo codes – if they have what I want.

It’s nice to have all this talk about integrating your computer with your TV, but it typically ignores a key underlying dynamic: who controls the licensing and availability of content is more important than who makes a better keyboard or TV-web interface. Funny as this spot and Bacon are, can any ad campaign can overcome that inherent limitation? People will discover it for themselves soon enough.


(Agency: Goodby Silverstein.)