This week, along with a massive unveiling of new foldable devices and accessories from Samsung, Google released its own ad campaign in an attempt to rally the troops against Apple’s tyrannical reign in messaging. Google’s #getthemessage campaign hopes to fan the flames of millions of annoyed Android fans so that Apple can be encouraged to support RCS messaging, the cross-platform standard recently adopted by Google Messages.
The Get The Message website reads like a Bible class handout from my old Christian school. It has all the talking points that Google wants me to use to remind people that it’s Apple’s fault that I, as an Android user, don’t have access to the resolution and full capabilities that Apple Messages offers. Google posits that group messages sometimes break because they include a mix of people using Apple and Android, often leading to “social frustration.” It even links to past coverage pointing to evidence that kids and teens are afraid to carry Android devices for fear of being labeled an uncool green bubble.
I immediately knew what Google was going for when I saw the ad campaign. I remember covering Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer’s first tweetstorm about the inefficiencies of Apple’s proprietary messaging standard. And then the second time, months later, when he called Apple to make it easier for everyone.
But the latest #getthemessage campaign seems a bit all over the place. I’m struggling to understand precisely the demographics Apple is supposed to be going after to make things work. Is it Android old-timers like me who have been complaining about the lack of parity in messaging since the early days on the platform? Or is it Gen Z TikTokers who have no problem watching Riverdale’s weirdest storylines and running with whatever horror crap the CW allows to show there? (I hear it’s really good.)
Why is Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl in Riverdale, part of this ad campaign? Is it supposed to inspire young people to help drive the point home? Also, why is Vanessa Hudgens part of this ad campaign, when her last relevant IMDB entry is The Princess Switch, a Netflix-exclusive Christmas movie with none of my life-time favorites? I have absolutely no emotional connection to these people as an Android user. Not to mention, you can tell they’re reading a script from their screens. I don’t think these famous people know what my life is like with an Android phone and hanging out in Apple land.
What’s the problem with iMessage?
In fact, there is fragmentation in text messaging between the major mobile platforms. The Apple Messages app runs on the iMessage service to send texts between iPhones and other compatible iOS devices. It supports end-to-end encryption, better support for group chats, and high-resolution images and videos. But when an Apple user texts an Android device using the default texting app, the message is sent as an old-school SMS or MMS message, often outmoding the text experience by of the Android user.
Google adopted RCS, or Rich Communication Services, to try to solve this dichotomy, and it is already being used in other markets. RCS enables encrypted messaging, high-quality media sharing, and other modern features such as larger character limits and read receipts. If you have access to RCS in Android Messages and you’re chatting with another Android user, you already have access to some of these features. This is what life could be like with your iPhone-using friend.
Google has been trying to bridge the gap between iOS and Android messengers despite repeated pleas from Apple to do the work. Emoji reactions, which used to be limited to iPhone users, became available earlier this year after the company added support for them on Android.
Fragmentation will persist unless Apple wants to join RCS. But Apple is committed to keeping its garden closed and locked, because it helps sell its hardware, where it makes most of its cash. iOS 16 Beta already has iPhone-only abilities to edit and delete delivered iMessages. This kind of feature is possible precisely because of the narrow nature of the iOS platform.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if this campaign sells out because Android users have already moved on. Messenger and WhatsApp from Meta have the strongest control on the market, and many other messaging apps work with your phone number. I’ve even moved on from Android Messages and find that most of my daily correspondence happens exclusively within Instagram direct messages.