After offering a teaser last week, Amazon released its full Super Bowl ad this morning in advance of this weekend’s big game, featuring celebrities Cardi B, Gordon Ramsey, Rebel Wilson, and Sir Anthony Hopkins playing the role of Amazon Alexa, under the premise that she lost her voice.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also makes an appearance. But what really stands out in the ad is the headset that the Alexa stand-ins are wearing — featuring an Amazon logo and the distinctive blue ring that’s a signature of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo products.
So is this ad doubling as a product unveiling? No, the company says. We checked with the Alexa team and got a quick response: it’s just a prop, they say. We’re suspicious, but we’ll take them at their word. For what it’s worth, we’d use one of those.
Update, Feb. 1: Amazon is tapping the celebrity expertise of even more Alexa wannabes with another 30-second ad, this one starring comedians Leslie Jones and JB Smoove. Amazon says this spot will air directly after the Super Bowl trophy ceremony:
