Google’s powerful Super Bowl ad helps 85-year-old widower remember his late wife

Millions of people tuned into the Super Bowl on Sunday and many of them watched for the advertisements.

From funny to heartfelt, the commercials have become one of the biggest events of the year. And this year, Google told the touchingly simple love story of an older man trying to keep the memory of his late wife alive.

Titled “Loretta,” the elderly man tells his Google Assistant details he remembers about his wife — from hating his mustache to the way she snorted when she laughed. It was inspired by the story of a Google employee’s grandfather, the company said in a statement. The staffer’s grandfather even lent his voice to the ad.

“At 85, to an audience of millions, he’ll be making his film debut,” Lorraine Twohill, Google’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier for him.”

Twohill explained this year’s ad is similar to Google’s very first Super Bowl ad, titled “Parisian Love,” which aired in 2010. It showed an American man finding love in Paris, and what he searched to make it happen. That ad was also based on a true story.

“Both are simple love stories told through the lens of our products,” Twohill said.

The commercial had people in tears, based on social media posts before halftime at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

TODAY’s Hoda Kotb said she “melted.”

Another user, @chloearnold35, tweeted a gif of crying.

“i was all hyped up until that google commercial came up,” @Garrzzz tweeted.