Google's done several commercials, well before any of the recent furor. One of the first was "Parisian Love" which aired during the Superbowl in 2010. The more memorable one was "Dear Sophie" in 2011 which got a lot more coverage, and I believed that aired in the US as well. I'm not as cynical as you are about Google's motives here, but i would think that airing ads in the US would have far more of an impact on the US public and regulators than a foreign language ad in India.

Parisian Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU Dear Sophie Lee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vkVHijdQk