Apple and Google aren’t just advertising their phones. They seem to want you to shed tears, too.
Here's a concise summary of the newest Apple ad: A family weeps at Christmas. And here's a concise summary of the latest Google ad, for a budget tablet: A young man's dog is dying while he's away at college.
As companies that make products, Apple and Google are now competing in virtually every way. They're both trying to sell phones, tablets, TV products, laptops, software ecosystems. They will almost inevitably compete in whatever device or software category comes next. In the process of competing with each other, they've both broadened their offerings to a redefining point: They consider themselves as much lifestyle companies as tech companies. Their advertising seems to reflect this.
