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Today I noticed something odd when I returned home from my morning croissant and hot chocolate. There was Christmas music playing throughout my house on my Google Home speakers. Eager to find the source, I took to Twitter and quickly found out that I wasn’t alone:
https://twitter.com/RobGameUK/status/1058468474215952391
https://twitter.com/Bradders_71/status/1058486985957011456
Hey @curryspcworld, your TV ad just triggered my Google Home to start playing Christmas music quite loudly at 10PM. At least get in touch with Google to blacklist your ads like they do with their own.
— antsu (@4ntsu) November 2, 2018
This may just be an innocent attempt to spread some early Christmas cheer, but in a society where even the smallest of things can offend almost anyone, is this an invasion into our personal lives or even a blatant violation of our privacy.
As home smart assistants become increasingly popular, shall we surrender to the fact that it’s something we’ll have to deal with on a daily basis? I can’t help think it’s one of the most intrusive forms of advertising. I’ve already had to ask Google to stop playing the music 4 times today.
The offending TV commercial is included below. I expect we’ll see a few more of these as holiday commercials ramp up over the following weeks. Have you been affected by unsolicited Christmas cheer?
Our new 2018 Christmas TV advert is here! The Magic of Christmas, upgraded.
Shop the Magic of Christmas at Currys PC World here; https://t.co/eIH6rloIoF #ChristmasUpgraded pic.twitter.com/7Legg6Iy6O— Currys (@currys) November 1, 2018
Update: It looks like Google is on the case.
Hey Darren, we're sorry for the trouble — we're looking into it. If this happens again, you can file a feedback report with the keywords "Home Ad Triggered". https://t.co/ocLD88nIQW
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) November 3, 2018
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