Ask Amazon’s Alexa which city in Texas is her favorite, and she replies, “Definitely Austin.”
Ask the voice-integrated artificial intelligence where Amazon will locate its second headquarters, and Alexa replies more coyly, “Somewhere in North America.”
But some viewers of the tech giant’s Super Bowl ad, which just happened to be a fan favorite Sunday night, are speculating that Alexa knows more than she is letting on, and by mentioning Austin in the spot called “Alexa Loses Her Voice,” Amazon planted an HQ2 Easter egg for millions to find.
In the teaser released in the run up before the big game, a woman is shown brushing her teeth as she talks to an Echo Dot on her bathroom counter. “Alexa, what’s the weather like today?”
That question was trimmed from Sunday’s ad, which started with Alexa’s answer.
“In Austin, it’s 60 degrees with a chance …” Alexa says, before she starts coughing.
National publications such as USA Today and Business Insider both rounded up tweets from people who are probably reading way too much into an ad from a company that is way too smart to tip its hand.
But Austin is at least a final-20 city when it comes to the competition for HQ2. And GeekWire’s own John Cook has previously ranked Austin as the No. 4 city on that list — behind only Washington, D.C., and the Maryland and Virginia areas that join the capital as his top three.
Texas Monthly magazine is also in on the ad game, saying, “it’s a big ol’ clue, as far as we’re concerned. Alexa didn’t announce the temperature in Indianapolis, Newark, Atlanta, or Dallas.” The mag also says Alexa is clearly suffering from cedar fever, a seasonal allergy brought on by a reaction to mountain cedar trees in Central Texas. And, by golly, later in the ad a man asks Alexa to play some country music.
Ding! Three clues for Austin.
i have a theory where amazon chooses austin as the city to put their 2nd headquarters bc austin was used in the superbowl commercial
— Gabriela (@brielatrevino) February 5, 2018
Amazon commercial mentioned the weather in Austin.
They're moving here. It's over.#AmazonHQ2
— Evil MoPac (@EvilMopacATX) February 5, 2018
Ok in the Amazon commercial Alexa is giving the weather in Austin….does that mean the new Amazon HQ is coming to the ATX??? ?
— Cody McCrary (@cody_mccrary) February 5, 2018
Hey #Alexa, what’s the weather in our new HQ2 destination of Austin, TX? Subliminal message for sure! C’mon, Austin, close the deal and bring Amazon “home” to Austin, TX!
— Bruce Kipperman (@Kipperdad) February 5, 2018