Google's latest ad leans on a "Wicked" riff to paint the Pixel Pro 10 as the brains behind features Apple now touts on the iPhone 17 Pro.
The 60-second advertisement uses Google and Apple's iPhones as references to "Wicked," a book-turned-musical-turned-movie. A purple iPhone 17 Pro portrays a Glinda, "the good witch" like character, while a green Pixel Pro 10 plays an Elphaba, or the "wicked witch" character.
As always, the ad somehow suggests the Pixel phone is superior to the iPhone. The iPhone 17 Pro tells the Pixel Pro 10 how lucky it is to have a friend like Pixel.
It then goes on to lavish the Pixel in praise, thanking it for inspiring a slate of new features that Google claims it pioneered first. Those mentioned include "fixing photos" and building a more personable AI assistant.
Predictably, the pair burst into song as the ad comes to an end. A bit surprising, though — it's actually a song from the musical.
This is not a new format for Google. In 2023, Google did a series of five ads called "Best Phones Forever," in which the iPhone 14 Pro and Google's Pixel lineup finally quashed their ongoing rivalry to be friends.
Google routinely ribs Apple over design choices and features, though sometimes to mixed results. In 2022, the Google Pixel team burned Apple on then-Twitter — but used an iPhone to do so.
