The real story behind the "Loretta" Google ad that had everyone crying during the Super Bowl

Almost all of America was glued to their television screens this past weekend. Whether or not you actually like football, there's nothing like watching all the advertisements companies shell out millions of dollars to air. After all, the NFL Super Bowl championship is one of the most-watched televised events of the annual United States TV calendar. This year, while some ads had us laughing our hearts out and others wondering about how to make the most of a good deal, the ad Google put out this year was quite the whammy. If you happened to catch the advert, there's no doubt that you were bawling. It actually turns out the now-famous "Loretta" ad is based on a true love story.

First of all, if you were grabbing drinks from the fridge and somehow managed to miss the tearjerker of the year, what are you even doing? You've got to watch the whole Google commercial, like, right now. But here's a play by play anyway. The ad begins with a man typing into the Google search bar, "how to not forget." He then asks his Google Assistant device to show him images of his late wife named Loretta. After this request, several others follow. The man asks Google to remember the cutest little details, like how she hated his mustache, loved traveling to Alaska, and always snorted when she laughed. At the very end of the video, Google narrates all the things the man had asked his device to remember. The ad ends with one last request: the man asks, "Remember I'm the luckiest man in the world." Cue the tears.

While we all tried to compose ourselves and go back to watching tough footballers tackle each other, some of us may have tried to make ourselves feel better by remembering that the ad wasn't based on a true story. But oh boy, how wrong we were. As it turns out, the commercial is based on a Google employee's grandparent. As per a statement Google's Chief Marketing Officer Lorraine Twohill released, the ad was based on the employee's 85-year-old grandfather. Not only is the advert inspired by his love story, he also provides the voice track for it. Twohill wrote, "In fact, the voice you hear throughout “Loretta” is the grandfather of a Googler, whose story we drew from to create the ad. At 85, to an audience of millions, he’ll be making his film debut. We couldn’t be happier for him." That's too adorable.

She also noted that the "Loretta" ad has a lot in common with Google's "Parisian Love," the first-ever commercial the company aired during the Super Bowl. The latter, too, she explained, was based on a true love story. She added, "Both are simple love stories told through the lens of our products." And like the ad that aired a decade ago, "Loretta" drives home Google's mission. Twohill stated, "The ad reflects our goal to build products that help people in their daily lives, in both big and small ways. Sometimes that’s finding a location, sometimes it’s playing a favorite movie, and sometimes it’s using the Google Assistant to remember meaningful details." Oh no. I think I'm going to cry again.