287 Passwords...

My wife and I have been hooked on NBC’s Superstore. We got started on it while we were on vacation in Canada (it’s a thing, but that’s beside the point). And since coming back home, we’ve continued to binge it. 

We’ve been served a whole bunch of ads while we watch these 20-minute shows and one, in particular, has caught my copywriter's eye. 

Google is running a series called “There’s No Place Like Chrome,” and from what I’ve read on the internet, they’re targeting iPhone Safari users. I haven’t used Safari since the iPhone 4 so I need no convincing of Chrome’s benefits, but these ads, and the copy, in particular, have stood out to me. 

My favorite focuses on passwords. 

It begins with a woman using her phone. She’s laying down, typing (and you can hear the unmistakable sound of a thumb-typing on a phone). She’s trying to enter a password and getting the not-so-fun denial tone and vibration telling her it’s wrong. She leans up with a look of confusion and annoyance. 
Then, we get our first line of copy while she’s still unsuccessfully trying to log in. 

She continues to try, letting out an exasperated sight we can all relate to, and five seconds later, Google finishes the sentence. 

Same. My passwords are numerous and so unique no one will be cracking into my accounts. 

Andddd at this point I’m laughing and turn to look at my wife, who isn’t. 

Because she’s sat with me many times as we search in our password book only to find something scratched, or I’ve changed it and haven’t updated it.

With the clear value of Chrome, Google wraps it up in a nice bow: you’ll never have to dig through old scraps of paper or answer ridiculous security questions again.

The copy speaks clearly to a person like me. Someone who thinks they’re clever. That they can outsmart the hackers, bots, and trolls on the web. Until it’s time to log in and they don’t have a clue what the password is.  

Google’s copy nails it using three sentences and 30 seconds of video. The copy doesn’t have to do much because it so clearly conveys a problem most of us face. They tell us exactly how they can make that pain go away. 

Except for the people who only use one password for everything (they’ll have bigger issues to worry about if the hackers come knocking).