Ads for Google's Pixel phone were everywhere this holiday: Splashed across glossy magazines, the front of the New York Times website and spinning on TV during National Football League games.
That aggressive marketing push produced a decent debut quarter for the smartphone, the first high-end device Google made itself, according to analysts and industry insiders. The early traction came at a cost though. The online search juggernaut more than doubled its TV ad budget over the holidays to push Pixel and its new Home speaker, according to one research firm.