Amazon pokes fun at Nixon tapes in Super Bowl ad about life pre-Alexa
Droga5 London created spot that makes the world seem so inconvenient before the voice assistant came around
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Amazon released its Super Bowl ad, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, and it imagines a world before Alexa, the voice-activated assistant.
The humorous spot is set to run in the third quarter on Sunday, and it is 90 seconds long. The ad begins with DeGeneres wondering what life would be like without the always-on Alexa available performing routine tasks. That’s when the commercial takes a trip back in time.
The ad steps then rewinds back to Victorian England, the Elizabethan times, the Old West and the Middle Ages, then all the way up to the Nixon era. The joke about Nixon is that his assistant Alexa does not erase his tapes. Get it?
Amazon has faced privacy concerns with Alexa, which is able to record people in the intimacy of their homes. That’s why last year, Amazon introduced a way for users to command Alexa to erase recordings, which Nixon could surely have used.
It seems Amazon wasn’t shy about hot-button political topics, either. In another gag, the commercial makes fun of “fake news” in history, presumably offering Alexa as an alternative for reliable information.
Droga5 London and Amazon worked together on the spot, which was directed by Steve Rogers via Somesuch x Revolver/Will O'Rourke.
The commercial was first teased last week.
Last year, Amazon was in the Super Bowl with a 90-second spot for Alexa, and it had a more futuristic theme. In that ad, Amazon wondered what wacky technology Alexa would get into in the future.
On Sunday, Amazon hopes to encourage discussion around the ad with the hashtag “#BeforeAlexa.”
Credits
- Date
- Jan 29, 2020
- Client :
- Amazon
- Agency :
- Droga5-London
- Global Executive Creative Director :
- Simon Morris
- Campaign Lead :
- Nick Gesualdi
- Project Manager :
- Nicole Jue
- Chief Creative Officer :
- David Kolbusz
- Group Creative Director :
- Shelley Smoler
- Group Creative Director :
- Raph Basckin
- Creative Director / Lead Writer :
- Matt Hubbard
- Senior Agency Producer :
- Rachel Hough
- Production Assistant :
- Manon Rees
- Joint Managing Director :
- Heather Cuss
- Account Director :
- Max Levine
- Strategy Director :
- Damien Le Castrec
- Strategy Director :
- Achim Schauerte
- Contributing Writer :
- Dave Wigglesworth
- Contributing Writer :
- Ed Redgrave
- Contributing Writer :
- Teddy Souter
- Contributing Writer :
- Frazer Price
- Contributing Writer :
- Ethan Bennett
- Contributing Writer :
- Cecile Robertshaw
- Production Company :
- Somesuch
- Production Company :
- Revolver
- Production Company :
- Will O'Rourke
- Director :
- Steve Rogers
- Managing Director / Executive Producer :
- Seth Wilson
- Production Manager :
- Lee Groombridge
- Director of Photography :
- Emmanuel Lubezki
- Production Designer :
- K.K. Barrett
- Costume Designer :
- Hannah Edwards
- Costume Designer :
- Jennifer Johnson
- Hair & Makeup :
- Jemma Carballo
- Hair & Makeup :
- Brenna Bash
- Production Services :
- Unit+Sofa
- USA Celebrities :
- Platinum Rye
- UK Celebrity :
- Talent Republic
- Edit :
- The Quarry
- Editor :
- Jonnie Scarlett
- Producer :
- Tor Adams
- Post Production :
- The Mill
- Executive Producer :
- Misha Stanford- Harris
- Senior Producer :
- Angela Toner
- Post Production Creative Director :
- Dan Williams
- Post Production Creative Director :
- Mike Chapman
- 2D Lead Artist :
- John Thornton
- 3D Lead Artist :
- Mike Chapman
- 3D Lead Artist :
- Finlay Crowther
- Finish Artist :
- Adam Maynard
- Matte Painting :
- Can Y. Sanalan
- Matte Painting :
- Sachin Dhapudkar Srinivas
- Animation :
- Laurie Estampes
- Animation :
- Nick Smalley
- Animation :
- Sauce Villas
- Design :
- Freya Barnsley
- Design :
- Kwok Lam
- Color :
- MPC
- Colorist :
- Jean-Clement Soret
- Color Producer :
- Ellora Chowdhury
- Sound :
- String and Tins
- Sound Design & Mix :
- Will Cohen
- Sound Design & Mix :
- Lawrence Kendrick
- Sound Design & Mix :
- Jim Stewart
- Producer :
- Eimear Ni Ghuaire
- Music Clearances :
- Amazon
- Music Composition :
- Soundtree
- Composer :
- Joel Hartman
- Head of Music :
- Luis Almau
- MD/Producer :
- Jay James
- Media Planning/Buying :
- Initiative
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