Taking and sharing photographs has become a central part of how we connect in our daily lives. But, for the 300 million people in the world living with a visual impairment, this simple means of communicating can be surprisingly difficult. In a time where it is increasingly important to build AI tools for everyone, Google saw an opportunity to show how inclusive AI tools, like those in Pixel 8, are helping to make the world a more equitable place.

Google’s core mission is to make their products and technologies accessible and useful to everyone. Google uses AI in their products and features to make the world more accessible. This year’s Super Bowl ad highlights an accessibility feature on the Pixel camera, continuing Google’s tradition of sharing stories about the real people who are impacted by the work we do.

“Javier in Frame” is a story about a man who is blind as he documents his life — from finding love to starting a family. He takes photos of each moment using Guided Frame, Google’s AI-powered accessibility feature on Pixel that uses a combination of audio cues and haptic feedback to help people who are blind and low-vision take photos. It follows in the footsteps of Google’s “Fixed on Pixel” and “Seen on Pixel,” which both highlight Google’s ongoing efforts to make Pixel's camera the world’s most inclusive and accessible.

People with disabilities represent one in seven people in the world and one in four Americans, making it the largest minority group in the world. Yet Super Bowl ads have historically not represented disabled communities. “Javier in Frame” was an opportunity to bring accessibility to the forefront of conversation by highlighting Google’s inclusive technology and telling a story centered around a lived experience of a blind person on the largest stage possible. In order to tell that story, we worked closely with subject-matter experts and community leaders and with a blind director to ensure the spot was truly representative of a blind user’s journey. The authenticity of the spot and accompanying BTS resonated not only with the blind low vision community, but the millions of viewers of the Super Bowl.

Working with the disabled community to design Pixel’s accessibility features has always been a guiding principle. We take this same approach in creative work and are always working to field input from Googlers, subject-matter experts and community leaders to improve representation.

To bring this story to life, Google partnered with Adam Morse, a filmmaker who is also blind. Adam experimented with an unconventional technique, painting the camera lens with petroleum jelly to help represent the blind protagonist’s perspective. This filmmaking approach helped Adam represent one of many unique experiences across the blind or low vision spectrum.

Production commenced in December 2023. The BTS was launched first on YouTube on 1/31/2024 followed by the main spot on YouTube and socials on 2/2/2024, ahead of the live broadcast on 2/11/2024. The campaign was launched in the US with digital assets live globally.

Debuting “Javier in Frame” at Super Bowl LVIII helped elevate not only the Guided Frame feature but Google’s overall commitment to accessibility and building products for all.

In one month, the spot received 50M+ views on YouTube. It placed first in Kellogg’s Super Bowl Advertising Review, and various media outlets pointed to it as a differentiated example of ads during the game. (Ad Age, Adweek, Inc.com, Forbes, USA Today).

“Javier in Frame” follows in the footsteps of “Fixed on Pixel” and “Seen on Pixel,” which both highlight our ongoing efforts to make Pixel's camera the world’s most inclusive and accessible. Working with the disabled community to design Pixel’s accessibility features is a guiding principle, and we awork to incorporate input from Googlers, subject-matter experts and community leaders to improve representation. Together, with the community, we will continue to elevate disability innovation in our products, our creative and in society.