People are using Amazon Echo in so many different ways, and asking its AI, Alexa, so many different things, that the brand decided it was perfect for little vignettes. So, it's rolling out more than a hundred 10-second spots, each with a funny little question or request of Alexa, in contextual and targeted digital, TV and social placements.
The campaign, called "Alexa Moments," was created in-house and is designed to show off Alexa's breadth of the capabilities and skills. (Alexa has more than 3,000 of these, apparently, so even doing 100 spots only scratches the surface.) Amazon tells AdFreak the work was inspired by real user stories, some of them gleaned from the more than 43,000 customer reviews of the product on Amazon.
Check out a bunch of the spots here:
It's a great little format for simple storytelling writ small, and suits the product perfectly. In its structure, it's quite reminiscent of Wieden + Kennedy's campaign of 15-second spots for Target a few years back. Those ads similarly featured little vignettes, where products sold at Target served as the punch lines—illuminating or solving an issue or problem introduced in each mini-story.
The "Alexa Moments" campaign coincides with the release of a 30-second TV spot titled "Break Up," which was all over the NFL games last weekend. But frankly, the 10-second ads are much more interesting and seem like they could work very well.
Tool of North America was the production company on the new spots, with Brig White as director, Topher Osborn as DP and Mike Curtis as AD. On the Amazon side, the executive creative director was Michael Boychuk and the creative director was Sean Ohlenkamp.
See three more spots below.
In addition to the new advertising, Amazon announced a group of new Alexa skills this week. Here's how Amazon describes them:
• BMW Connected: Launched on Friday, Alexa and BMW customers can check the status of their car doors, windows and fuel level remotely using the BMW Connected Alexa skill on an Alexa-enabled device such as the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot. Just say, "Alexa, ask BMW if my doors are locked."
• Allrecipes: Launching in the coming weeks, use this Alexa skill to discover, listen and follow new recipes. Just say, "Alexa, ask Allrecipes for a Cajun chicken pasta recipe."
• CNBC: In the coming weeks, you'll be able to use the CNBC Alexa skill to get the top business news, stock quotes and market information from CNBC. Just say, "Alexa, ask CNBC, how are the markets doing?"
• Consumer Reports: Launching in the coming weeks, the Consumer Reports Alexa skill will get you the latest consumer product news, recalls, and CR's take on the hottest appliances. Just say, "Alexa, ask Consumer Reports what the top-rated dishwashers are?"
• CNN: Launching in the coming weeks, the CNN Alexa skill will provide real-time news updates, breaking news stories, and election updates from CNN reporters and anchors across the globe. Just say, "Alexa, ask CNN what's the latest breaking news."
• Quora: Coming by the end of this year, Quora will launch their Alexa skill, bringing its first voice-enabled experience to Alexa-enabled devices. This skill will provide a broader expansion of information and Q&A available to Alexa customers. Just say, "Alexa, ask Quora when will self-driving cars be available to buy?"