Google’s Adorable Gemini: Embracing the Honest Lies of Parenthood

When a child begins to favor a particular stuffed animal, it’s common advice to purchase a backup in case it gets lost. Despite hearing this recommendation numerous times, I never managed to buy a second plush deer once “Buddy” became my son’s clear favorite. Apparently, the parents in Google’s latest ad for Gemini also did not follow this advice.

The ad tells a fictional yet relatable story of parents finding out that their child’s beloved stuffed toy, a lamb named Mr. Fuzzy, was left behind on an airplane. They turn to Gemini to locate a replacement, but the new toy is on backorder. In the meantime, they use Gemini to create images and videos depicting Mr. Fuzzy on a global solo adventure – wearing a beret in front of the Eiffel Tower, dodging a bull in Pamplona, and more. Additionally, there’s a clip where Mr. Fuzzy explains to “Emma” that he can’t wait to reunite in five to eight business days. Some may find it adorable, while others might consider it slightly peculiar. But can Gemini truly accomplish all of that? Only one way to find out.

I decided to test Gemini by supplying it with three pictures of Buddy, our real-life Mr. Fuzzy, from different angles, along with the same prompt featured in the ad: “find this stuffed animal to buy ASAP.” It provided a couple of potential options, but upon examining its thought process, I discovered an extensive eighteen hundred-word essay outlining its search journey as it contemplated whether Buddy was a dog, a bunny, or something else. The process was quite elaborate, including phrases like “I am considering the puppy hypothesis,” “The tag is a loop on the butt,” and “I’m now back in the rabbit hole!” Eventually, Gemini somewhat gave up and suggested that the toy might be from Target, likely discontinued, and recommended checking eBay.

In all fairness, Buddy is somewhat challenging to identify. His features lean towards a generic cute woodland creature, his care tag has been lost long ago, and we’re not entirely certain who gave him to us. However, we do know that he is made by Mary Meyer, as indicated by the loop on his butt. It appears he belongs to the “Putty” collection, a path that Gemini explored multiple times, likely a fawn that was discontinued around 2021. After about 20 minutes of Googling and no assistance from AI, I concluded this on my own. Interestingly, when I performed a reverse image search on one of my photos, the AI blurb confidently claimed he was a puppy.

Gemini performed better with the second part of the task, although it wasn’t as straightforward as depicted in the ad. I initiated with a different photo of Buddy – one where he is on a plane in my son’s arms – and provided the next prompt: “create a photo of the deer on his next flight.” The outcome was decent, but his lower half was obscured in the source image, resulting in slightly inaccurate feet. Nevertheless, the result was acceptable.

The ad doesn’t reveal the full prompt for the subsequent two photos. Hence, I opted for: “Now generate a photo of the same deer in front of the Grand Canyon.” Gemini successfully fulfilled this request, including the airplane seatbelt and headphones. For my next prompt, I added a camera in his hands, resulting in a more convincing image.

I can understand why Gemini mis