Google has entered showbiz to make Android and tech look ‘cool’

Apple’s bold move of moving into Hollywood with its Apple Originals banner laid the groundwork for Apple TV Plus. Now, Google is planting its own flag in showbiz, but it’s taking a very different approach.

According to Business Insider, Google has quietly set up shop in the entertainment industry with the launch of an unassumingly named production company called “100 Zeroes.” Unlike Apple, which stamps its name across all its productions, Google’s new venture seems wrapped in subtlety. Unless you’re tech-minded, you’d never guess it was a Google operation from the name alone, and maybe that’s exactly what the company wants. Just so you know, the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes is also known as a “googol,” a mathematical term representing the number 10 to the power of 100, and an inspiration for Google’s own name. So really, 100 Zeroes is kind of a clever name for a Google-owned company.

Business Insider reports that 100 Zeroes’s mission is to paint technology and Google’s products in a positive, aspirational light. Think the opposite of Black Mirror. Apparently, the goal is to win over younger audiences who associate sleek, cutting-edge tech with Apple. To be fair, Apple has been playing this game for a while now. Its seamless product placements have been a fixture of film and TV for a long time. Google devices, like the Pixel phones, have only recently started popping up in buzzy shows. Case in point: The White Lotus.

But 100 Zeroes isn’t just about slipping Pixel phones or Nest devices into scenes. Google has an entirely different product placement deal with a company called United Talent Agency. Rather, Google’s new production house is the result of a multi-year partnership with Range Media Partners, the talent agency and production company behind films like “A Complete Unknown” and “Longlegs.” Range’s role is to scout and develop projects that Google can help fund or co-produce. While they’re at it, Google wouldn’t mind weaving next-gen technologies like AR, VR, spatial computing, and features like Circle to Search or Immersive View right into these stories.

It seems Google is not only aiming for box office success. The true test of the new venture will be whether these projects can boost sentiment around the company’s products and services. And if you’re wondering where you’ll watch these Google-backed films and shows, don’t look to YouTube or Google TV.

According to the report, Google plans to sell them to major streaming platforms like Netflix and traditional Hollywood studios. So, no, Google isn’t looking to turn YouTube into the next Apple TV Plus. For now, get ready to see Google’s tech more often on your screens. Hopefully, the company’s efforts will raise Android’s cool quotient with the Apple cult.