Rising Formula One star Oscar Piastri has brought his trademark deadpan manner to a new Google Pixel campaign that playfully riffs on his high-profile switch from Alpine to McLaren.

The Melbourne driver appears in the “Excited on the Inside” video campaign, delivering a low-key voiceover that contrasts with visual cues referencing his career move, including the swapping of a snow-covered mountain mural for a papaya painting — a nod to McLaren’s team colour.

The campaign forms part of Google’s long-running effort to convince largely Millennial consumers to switch from their entrenched loyalty to iPhones to Pixel devices, drawing a parallel with Piastri’s own decision to change teams.

In a 30-second video, Piastri is shown in what appears to be his apartment, fiddling with a remote-control car and glancing at images of his previous trophy wins, his neutral expression rarely changing.

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“I know I don’t always show it, but winning does excite me,” he says in a voiceover. “So, when I see a chance to get ahead, I will change things up.”

“I mean, why would you want anything less than the best. It’s why I switched to Google Pixel.”

Created by Emotive, the spot further leans into Piastri’s dry humour when he asks Google’s Gemini AI to help him draft a race-winning speech. Gemini suggests he simply say “thanks,” to which Piastri deadpans: “Perfect.”

Google Gemini was used to generate/manipulate still images in the spot

Speaking to Mumbrella of Piastri’s campaign appeal, Emotive chief creative officer Gavin McLeod said: “Oscar is massively connected with the Millennial audience, which is our kind of core audience. Last year, his almost winning the World Championship really catapulted him into the top table.”

“Someone will admire Oscar because he’s unbelievably good at what he does, but he’s also so authentically true to himself; he’s so mature beyond his 24 years.

“The underplayed nature of Oscar is so different to most celebrity stuff you see on TV … it’s allowing him to be himself in that moment,” McLeod said.

Released to coincide with the Australian Open, the Pixel campaign also includes a 15-second clip in which Piastri asks Gemini whether he could win the tournament. The AI dryly replies: “Probably not.”

Although Piastri appears at home, the ad was actually filmed in Mexico, where he was racing. Explaining the process, McLeod, who joined Emotive last year as its first chief creative officer, said:

“We were quite intentional about capturing content in ways that could create multiple spots and social assets, maximising the four hours we had with Oscar.”

“A lot of AI was used in the production, including creating images like the painting, using tools like [Gemini’s AI image generator] Nano Banana, but nothing is manufactured or fake: it’s real content.”

Google’s Australian ad is part of a long-running campaign featuring sports stars who have “switched” to Google Pixel phones. The campaign kicked off in January last year with former English Premier League star Sol Campbell, who famously switched from rivals Tottenham to Arsenal.

It has also included basketball player Stephen Curry, who, in contrast, has stayed with the same team for 17 years.

McLeod added that Piastri’s own “switch,” along with other Formula One references, is hidden in at least 10 “Easter eggs.”

“The ad has dissectible content … hardcore F1 fans will freeze-frame and notice every detail, but there’s still appeal for people who might not get every reference,” he said.

Speaking over email to Mumbrella about Google’s overall strategy, ANZ director of device marketing Julia Davis said:

“Research tells us that there is significant stagnancy in the smartphone market, driven by a sense of consumer apathy, where people stick with the same devices year after year, even when those phones no longer meet their evolving needs. By showcasing his own switch to Pixel, we illustrate the benefit of choosing a better option.

“We collaborated closely with Oscar and his team to capture the perfect creative hook: a play on the juxtaposition between his famously calm, composed exterior and the genuine internal excitement we know he feels for finding something better that gives him the edge.”

Speaking about the campaign’s media strategy, which was handled by Essence MediaCom, Davis said the decision to launch during the Australian Open was designed to “capture a premium audience during one of Australia’s most significant cultural milestones”, and will span TV, online video and social media.

“The Oscar Piastri creative assets will be integrated with broader sponsorship touchpoints designed to amplify brand salience for Google Pixel, alongside contextual integrations to encourage our consumers to switch phones,” she added.

Campaign Credits

Client: Google Australia

Chief Marketing Officer: Suzana Ristevski

Director of Devices Marketing: Julia Davis

Senior Marketing Manager: Nicole Lendarduzzi

Marketing Manager: Nicholas Hirst

Marketing Manager: Maggie Pan

Creative Agency: Emotive

CEO & Founder: Simon Joyce

Executive Strategy Partner: Sebastian Revell

Chief Creative Officer: Gavin McLeod

Creative Direction: Justin Drape via Creativity & Commerce

Head of Earned Creative: Jessica Cluff

Senior Creative Director: Rupert Taylor

Associate Creative Director: Edward Macaulay

Head of Design: Daniel Mortensen

Senior Designer/Animator: Chris Cooper

Business Director: Monika Vidovic

Senior Account Manager: Tyler Ronaldson

Head of Production: Hayley-Ritz Pelling

Senior Producer: Cate Hartmann

Senior Video Editor: Sam Gadsden