Make the product the director, not the star

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Hello, Creative Souls.

There are ads you forget.
There are ads you respect.
And then, once in a while, there’s an ad that stays with you like a memory you didn’t live—but somehow still feel.

Today’s edition is about one of those ads.

Campaign: “Dear Sophie”

Let’s be honest. Tech ads usually tell us what they do.
Chrome’s “Dear Sophie” shows us what they mean.

We watch a father document his daughter’s life from baby photos to birthday emails to street views of her first home. Through it all, Chrome is simply… there. Not in your face. Not trying to sell itself. Just helping.

The Emotional Sleight of Hand

On paper, this is a browser ad.
In reality, it’s a love letter to memory.

What makes it work isn’t fancy production or emotional manipulation. It’s truth. A universal human desire to remember the people we love—and the quiet, everyday tools we use to do it.

No jargon. No specs. No selling.

Just a father, a daughter, and the digital threads that connect them.

Why It Matters

🔍 Chrome isn’t the hero. It’s the helper.
It doesn’t dominate the story. It supports it—like a good editor, or a reliable friend. It doesn’t say “Look at me,” it says “Look what you can do.”

🪞 It reflects our real lives.
This isn’t an epic quest. It’s everyday magic. It feels like something you would do for someone you love. That’s why it hits.

🕯️ It glorifies the ideal, not the interface.
What’s being sold isn’t a browser. It’s a feeling: love, preserved. Time, archived. The idea that technology can serve memory—not ego.

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What Creatives Can Steal From This

• Stop trying to be profound. Start being real.

• Make your product the supporting character, not the lead.

• Let the emotion breathe. Let silence carry weight.

• Design moments, not messages.

The Big Question

Are you using your ad to say,
“Here’s what we do”?

Or are you saying,
“Here’s what you can become”?

That’s the difference between marketing that converts and marketing that connects.

"Dear Sophie" isn’t a product pitch.
It’s a modern ritual.
One browser. One father. One daughter.
And a thousand unsaid things held quietly between the lines."

See you next week. Thank you for scrolling till the bottom, here is a special prize for you: Daily Anxiety Management Guide. In the checkout enter 0$ and download it for free.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.