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Google made a bunch of ads to remind you what Duo is

Google made a bunch of ads to remind you what Duo is

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It's a FaceTime clone

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Google really wants people to use its new video chat app Duo. So much so that it made not one or even two, but five different video ads promoting the service. The ads, five full 30-second ones and another five shortened 15-second versions, are polished and professional spots, with anthropomorphic jam jars and socks showing off the app's benefits like its standout live preview feature. The blitz is a bit perplexing, but so is the existence of Duo. The app is a FaceTime clone, but it remains separate from Google's new Allo chat app, itself a competitor to iMessage and Facebook Messenger.

Google also refuses to merge any of these services into Hangouts, its existing multi-platform video, chat, and call service that lives on mobile and inside Gmail and Google+. So maybe Google does need five ads to explain Duo, lest we confuse it for another product in Google's byzantine social labyrinth.

Update 12:24PM ET, September 15th: Clarified that of the 10 videos Google published, five are full 30-second ads and five are shortened 15-second versions.