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Google to serve users ads on household items

Google to offer companies the opportunity to advertise on items such as thermostats, car dashboards and refrigerators

22 May 2014

Google plans to widen its advertising remit to allow companies to place ads on a range of household items.

In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission sent in December, Google explained it would like to offer advertising and other content on "refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities."

The search giant explained that it didn't feel the need to release its mobile revenue figures like Facebook, Twitter or Apple because the way in which people access its mobile services is evolving, making the data irrelevant.

"Our expectation is that users will be using our services and viewing our ads on an increasingly wide diversity of devices in the future," Google said.

Google is already taking steps towards taking over people's life with advertising, as its forthcoming Google Glass smart glasses will no doubt serve users ads. Meanwhile, its deal with Audi, General Motors, Honda and Hyundai could potentially pave the way for it to display marketing messages on the in-car displays.

Shortly after issuing the letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google announced its purchase of Wi-Fi connected smoke detector and thermostat startup Nest Labs, giving the company a further opportunity to display advertising and other content on household monitors.

However, a statement sent to the Wall Street Journal by Nest made it clear the company does not have any plans to integrate advertising into its products. Tony Fadell, Nest's founder and CEO, said: "Nest has a paid-for business model, while Google has generally had an ads-supported business model. We have nothing against ads after all Nest does lots of advertising. We just don't think ads are right for the Nest user experience."