Google launched Pixel by morphing its search bar into a phone in every execution

Introduce Pixel, the Phone by Google, as the brand's official evolution into hardware, with a feeling of possibility rather than a spec sheet.

Transition from the search bar to the phone shape in every major execution — from the thing people know and love about Google to the new thing they will love.

A teaser film in September, Neon Portal outdoor installations and projections worldwide framing the real world through a glowing rectangle, a launch film, and the first-ever 24-hour Snapchat brand takeover with 20+ custom videos and a bespoke lens.

The integrated campaign rolled out across six major markets — Australia, Canada, Germany, India, the UK and the US — from 5 October 2016 through the end of the year under #madebyGoogle; no results were reported.

On 5 October 2016, Google launched Pixel, the Phone by Google, with an integrated campaign by Droga5 New York. LBB framed the stakes plainly: 'Droga5 Helps Google to Take on The iPhone' — the company that organised the world's information was turning its attention to the most important device in your life.

The campaign's central device was Google's most iconic visual asset: the search bar. In all of the campaign's major executions, the search bar transitions into the phone shape, evolving 'from something people know and love about Google to something new they will love about Google'. Since the September teaser, Neon Portal outdoor installations and projections had appeared around the globe, framing the real world through a beautiful rectangle.

The first film, 'Introducing Pixel, Phone by Google', told how all the possibilities out there are now in the palm of your hand, with each following story 'a little bucket of magic brought to you by Google'. The rollout spanned six major markets and included the first-ever complete 24-hour Snapchat brand takeover: more than 20 custom videos across Discover, user Snaps and a bespoke lens. Production was by Anonymous Content with post by MPC London.

The idea solves Google's specific launch problem: how a software brand becomes a hardware brand without abandoning its identity.

The search-bar-to-phone morph carried across film, physical installations and social formats as one recognizable gesture.

It used each channel for a first: Neon Portal projections outdoors and a 24-hour Snapchat brand takeover.

A company entering a new category can launch from its most iconic existing asset: the transition itself — search bar into phone — tells the hardware story without a spec.

The campaign went live officially on 5 October 2016 across Australia, Canada, Germany, India, the UK and the US, with more elements promised through the end of the year under #madebyGoogle.