Google is back in the Super Bowl and has created a new ad for the Pixel 8 smartphone showcasing how Google AI can be used to make it easier for people with blindness or low vision to capture photos and the beautiful moments of daily life.

Scheduled for the second quarter of the game, Google has released a behind-the-scenes look into the video today with plans to launch the ad soon. It has been partly filmed with a camera obscured by petroleum jelly, a decision taken by a blind director, Adam Morse, to the perspective of a visually impaired character.

“I’m doing my best to translate an experience of blindness that feels authentic to me, that can also be accessible for people with sight,” Morse said in the BTS video.

The commercial, named “Javier in Frame”, tells the story of a blind man who falls in love and starts a family. Bu following them on their romantic journey and capturing pivotal and meaningful moments through selfies, Google emphasizes the effects of its new smartphone: each photo begins through the perspective of the visually impaired man before slowly focusing into precision. Thus, it displays how its AI camera aids visually impaired people in photography.

The feature was in 2022 for low-vision or blind users to capture photos, and Google worked with them directly to develop it properly. As it explained in a 2022 blog post. 

“Blind and low-vision testers helped us identify and develop the ideal combination of alternative sensory feedback of audio cues, haptics and vibrations, intuitive sound and visual high-contrast elements,” said Lingeng Wang, a technical program manager at Google who works on product inclusion and accessibility.