Super Bowl Commercials: Amazon’s Alexa, Ellen DeGeneres, and Portia de Rossi
For this article, we’re presenting a relatively ambitious ad that features Ellen DeGeneres and also Portia de Rossi talking a little bit about Amazon’s Alexa — it’s one of the longer ads, but it does offer up some humor while nailing the point home time and time again.
The pitch – Ellen and Portia each wonder what life was like prior to Alexa becoming an innovative, active part of society. From there, we go back and see what life before Alexa was like in different societies — including rulers ordering around random people named Alexa. There are a lot of different punch-lines throughout before getting around to Ellen and Portia at the end.
What Works – The ad is funny! There are a lot of little gags throughout and with two funny people at the start of it, the tone of it is set well from the get-go. Also, you have to celebrate the brand integration here — what Amazon is saying is that so many people are so used to Alexa that they can’t quite envision their lives without it. There aren’t a lot of companies that would choose to go so bold with what they’re doing here.
What Doesn’t – Could Amazon have made this a little shorter? Probably. The extended version of the ad online is about 90 seconds long, and it does feel like this could’ve been about 60 seconds and it would’ve been just fine.
Overall Verdict – It’s too long to be viral in the way of some other big-game commercials, but we do think that there’s a lot of great stuff within here. Kudos to Amazon for bringing out big stars and establishing their product as essential to consumers. Grade: B.
Want more Super Bowl commercials?
Then head over to the link here! Meanwhile, be sure to share what you think about this ad in the comments! (Photo via Amazon.)