Google’s Home Alone recreation: toasting an alcohol-free beverage to seasonal nostalgia
An irresistible lap of honour for Google.
1990’s Home Alone has sealed its place as the It’s A Wonderful Life for the 90s generation, maintaining its relevance for the TikTok generation through popular memes riffing on the macabre tendencies of its revengeful protagonist, and querying the source of his father’s inexplicable financial clout.
Brand Culkin at its peak.
The tech giant’s rerun of its 2018 campaign for Google Assistant lands at a moment when brand Culkin is peaking, with McCaulay fans warmed by the star’s refreshed appearance, post rehab, as well as his brother Keiran’s lauded coat tail riding, winning a Screen Actor’s Guild award for his upbeat performance as a scheming heir to a fortune in Succession.
Google makes impactful use of the ad’s one minute runtime, which sees McCaulay reimagining classic scenes, playfully shoehorning in Google’s device while acknowledging his more mature disposition.
Upon finding an empty house - a far less jeopardous situation for a then 38-year-old - Kevin now turns to Google’s Assistant for guidance: "Mom? Dad? Hey Google, what's on the calendar today?"
"You have one event called 'House to yourself'," the device responds.
More knowing parody follows as Kevin – now very much of shaving age – requests aftershave from Google Assistant, keen not to repeat his face searing mishap. His bed bouncing antics are less successful however, incurring a back injury this time around.
And, no Home Alone call back would be the same without a nod to the much quoted Angels with Filthy Souls scene. Now, however, McAllister replays a line from the movie to communicate with a pizza boy, before snacking gluttonously on ice cream and chocolate: some things never change for McAllister, it seems.
21st century Kevin has lost none of his cunning, however, employing Google Assistant’s automated ‘Internet of Things’ interactivity to rid his house of would-be-intruders using just simple voice command, this time around.
The infamous furnace even receives a callback, but now, Kevin merely commands it to maintain a cosy temperature, once again via Google Assistant, positioning Google’s product as the epitome of Millennial convenience, assisted by the memorable line: “make Google do it”.
The advert’s rerun is an irresistible lap of honour for Google, given its creative tick boxing of several Yule Tide mainstays: the instant nostalgia of a family favourite Christmas film, star appeal and good humour; all boosted by the redemption arc of Culkin’s sobriety.
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