Google Pulls Gemini AI Ad from Olympics After Criticism

Google is not winning any gold medals for Olympic ads this year, after days of criticism I decided to pull controversial “Dear Sydney” ad from Olympic coverage.

In the 60-second ad, a father tries to write a fan letter on behalf of his daughter to her Olympic idol, American track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The premise is the kind of saccharine ad you’d expect from the Olympics, but things take a turn when, instead of helping his daughter write the letter, he simply tells Gemini to do it. “It just has to be perfect,” he says, before prompting Gemini to tell Sydney how inspiring she is, that his daughter plans to break her record someday, and ending it with a joke, “Sorry, not sorry.”

From the very beginning, the ad drew the ire of the internet. Many criticized advertising on social media for completely missing the point of writing a fan letter. (Which is supposedly about establishing a heated, human connection by showing sensitivity and expressing how much your hero’s work has affected your life.) Washington Post Columnist Alexandra Petri wrote a rebuttal stating that he wants to “throw a hammer at the TV every time I watch it.” Others have indicated that advertising encourages you to choose easier solutions instead of expressing yourself.

Meanwhile in statement Down many points of saleGoogle acknowledged the negative feedback, but said the ad was not intended to suggest that Gemini could replace humans entirely. The ad was intended to “show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, a germ of thought, or an early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

It wouldn’t be the first time massive tech has stepped in to showcase the power of AI in advertising. Apple took flak a few months ago for its “Crush” ad, which featured a hydraulic press squeezing original tools into a shiny fresh iPad. People were understandably upset by the imagery, especially since AI has sparked fears that the technology will steal and replace the work of writers, artists, performers and other creators.

At the heart of the problem is that tech companies still have trouble reading the situation with regard to AI. In the case of the “Dear Sydney” ad, it’s not even about AI stealing work. More broadly, people crave genuine connection. What makes a fan letter valuable is knowing that someone took time out of their busy lives to express what you or your work means to them. It’s tough to imagine McLaughlin-Levrone I’d rather not be moved when reading a tumultuous letter from a child that sometimes contains a typo or awkward grammar.

Ironically, the words my father gave me before his Gemini prompt were perfect enough. On the other hand, the glimpses you see in Gemini’s draft read more like a boilerplate cover letter. Google may have wanted to show that Gemini is great at starting drafts, but it failed to understand that business emails are one thing and personal letters are something else entirely. Writing them shouldn’t be straightforward. Being nervous, going through it, and still sending your true feelings—that’s the whole truth.