Amazon’s Alexa may very well be a teetotaler, but she sure dresses the part of a beer lover. At least that’s the case in a new creation from Rudy Willingham, the Seattle artist who has gained a following on Instagram with his unique look at the world.
Willingham posted an image Wednesday of an Echo smart speaker re-skinned as a large Rainier Beer can. One photo showed the Echo in its natural state, with Rainier “label” printouts nearby. Another photo showed the completed can. The blue ring at the top of the Echo was even glowing, indicating that Amazon’s voice assistant had been engaged.
“Alexa, turn into a Rainier Beer can,” Willingham wrote. “If I made, would you buy?” he added in a query to his 26,000 followers. The comments seemed to indicate that the answer was overwhelmingly yes.
Willingham is a former GeekWire Geek of the Week. His art usually involves photo cutouts held up in front of real life backgrounds to create new and interesting images. He started his own ad agency called Rudy Corp., and a website taps into the Rainier mystique.
Rainier, the historic brand that was once brewed in Seattle and still has a loyal following in the city and the Pacific Northwest, is no stranger to rubbing up against technology. A recent ad campaign tapped into Seattle’s changing culture and the influx of tech workers.
Willingham told GeekWire Wednesday night that he’d love to get the Echo covers produced in time to sell some for the holidays. When asked what was the first thing he asked Alexa as a beer can, he said, “to order me some Rainier.”
