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Comment by tomp | Hacker News Reader

In the UK, there have been quite a few TV ads from Facebook recently.

Yesterday, after watching another one, my girlfriend commented: "Even Facebook is making ads now - this tells us a lot about how well things are going for them."

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Heh, good point. Google advertises on Google but I have hardly seen a Google ad outside of a page that displays Google ads. Disclaimer: I don't watch TV.

I've seen loads of Google ads - on TV, in the press, and especially outdoor advertising. It's typically conceptual stuff, about security, privacy, etc.

In addition, I get a lot of direct mail with vouchers for using AdWords.

I recently started watching live TV through a digital antenna and SlingTV, and I've actually seen a handful of ads for Google. I've only seen one or two search ads, but a bunch for Android thought their new "Be different, not the same" campaign. Still, many more than I've seen for Facebook.

I think advertising makes more sense for Google - they have a number of products, and are always releasing new ones, so advertising is as much branding as it is informing.

For Facebook, however, it's just branding - everybody knows what Facebook does (and the ads are just that - "keep friends").

Then you missed the massive TV campaign Google did last year telling you how they were going to track your child's life from conception to death. Uber-creepy.

There are TV ads in the UK for "Android", focusing on the diversity of devices you can get (as opposed to the Apple monoculture)

Google did heavy advertising over here in the UK for Chrome. Billboards everywhere.

Saw adverts for Chrome browser on the Tube a few years back

That was also my initial reaction: "Wow they must be getting desperate if they're resorting to TV advertising."

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