MAM
Haier’s Christmas film follows a cookie and a trail of belief
MUMBAI: Sometimes, Christmas magic doesn’t knock, it wanders. This festive season, Haier, in collaboration with SW Network, has released an AI-led holiday film that swaps spectacle for softness, reminding viewers that belief, not noise, is what truly keeps the season alive.
The film opens in a cosy home with a simple wish and an even simpler object, a Christmas cookie. When the cookie is whisked away by a mischievous squirrel, the story quietly slips into magical realism. What follows is an imaginative journey across worlds: from a treetop Christmas celebration to an underwater festive gathering, where a fish and a dolphin briefly become unlikely custodians of holiday cheer.
As the cookie travels from sea to sky, passed mid-air from dolphin to bird, the narrative gently stitches together land, ocean and atmosphere. The journey comes full circle when the bird returns the cookie to the very children who had wished for it, turning a small act of belief into a shared moment of wonder.
Rendered through visually rich, AI-powered storytelling, the film positions technology not as the star but as the silent enabler. The transitions between environments are fluid, dreamlike and intentionally understated, reinforcing the idea that Christmas magic is not loud or theatrical, it is quiet, hopeful and often arrives when least expected.
Beyond its festive warmth, the film subtly mirrors Haier’s forward-looking brand philosophy. By using AI to enhance emotion rather than overshadow it, the campaign suggests that innovation can deepen human connection, not dilute it. The magic here lies as much in restraint as in imagination.
In a season often defined by excess, Haier’s Christmas offering chooses a gentler path. Its message is simple but resonant, belief has a way of travelling across species, spaces and hearts and when you trust in it, Christmas always finds its way back home.
Brands
Google says Gemini AI cuts irrelevant ads by 40 percent
AI driven search and ad tools boost relevance and results for brands.
MUMBAI: In the never ending hunt for the right ad at the right moment, artificial intelligence may finally be sharpening the aim. Google says the integration of its multimodal AI models, Gemini, has reduced irrelevant advertisements across its platforms by 40 percent, as improved query understanding allows ads to match user intent more closely.
Speaking at a roundtable on Thursday, Google vice president of Global Ads Dan Taylor said the company has been steadily deploying Gemini powered upgrades to interpret complex search queries more accurately. “We have been making Gemini based improvements to query understanding at a rate of almost one launch per month over the last two years. As the models improve and our ability to deploy them improves, ad quality continues to get better,” Taylor said.
The improvements come as Google leans deeper into AI driven advertising tools. According to the company, 2025 saw a threefold increase in Gemini generated creative assets produced by advertisers using its AI powered ad solutions.
The company also highlighted how these tools are influencing marketing performance for brands in India.
Insurance marketplace Policybazaar recorded a 28 percent rise in health insurance sales while reducing cost per sale by 23 percent after adopting AI Max, a tool that interprets natural language search queries to improve ad targeting.
Meanwhile, hospitality platform OYO reported 50 percent higher return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 25 percent reduction in cost per acquisition after combining its existing search campaigns with Google’s Performance Max (PMax) advertising campaigns.
Taylor noted that evolving consumer behaviour is also reshaping how brands approach digital advertising. According to Google’s data, 86 percent of shoppers in India using Google Search said they were open to trying new brands or products, suggesting that AI driven discovery tools could increasingly influence purchase decisions.
Beyond advertising, Google is also investing in what it calls agentic commerce, an emerging model where AI agents autonomously assist users in discovering, comparing and purchasing products online.
“Our goal with agentic commerce is twofold, first, to remove the grunt work of shopping so consumers can focus on the fun parts; and second, to work hand in hand with the industry to build the foundations needed to make agentic commerce seamless and secure across the web,” Taylor said.
The push into AI enhanced advertising and commerce comes as Google’s core ads business continues to grow. The company recently reported $82.28 billion in advertising revenue, marking a 13.5 percent year on year increase.
For advertisers navigating an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Google is betting that smarter algorithms and sharper intent signals will make ads feel less like interruptions and more like timely suggestions.
