Chris Hemsworth can think of many ways AI can go off the rails within his home.
In Amazon’s 60-second Super Bowl ad, “Alexaaaa+,” the actor hypothesizes all of the ways that AI—more specifically Amazon’s AIexa+ AI—is destined to destroy him.
The spot, which will air during the third quarter of the game, opens with Hemsworth and his wife, actor Elsa Pataky, standing in their kitchen as Pataky waits for a car service. The first time we see Hemsworth, he’s carrying a snake from the backyard into the house (a real thing that Hemsworth once did).
But it’s not the snake that scares Hemsworth—it’s the Alexa device sitting on the counter that’s talking back to him.
The AI, Hemsworth is convinced, is plotting to kill him.
Hemsworth starts rattling off scenarios where Alexa could axe him.
For example, Alexa could conveniently decapitate while he’s trying to fix a jammed garage door. And Alexa can close the cover on the outdoor pool when it senses rain, trapping Hemsworth under water. In Hemsworth’s imagination, he’s greeted at his front door by a giant bear after Alexa notifies him that a package has been delivered. The final assassination attempt comes from Alexa turning on the fireplace that explodes into a fireball. In the end though, Alexa offers to book Hemsworth a massage, showing it’s not malicious.
There’s also a little bit of cross-promotion with Amazon’s other Super Bowl ad—a spot for Ring that spotlights a feature called Search Party for Dogs. As Pataky’s car service pulls up to the house, a Ring logo flashes on the Alexa device.
A longer, 90-second version of the ad sees another situation play out where Hemsworth is yanked from his home while working out, hurled against a tree, and attacked by the snake.
The goal of the campaign is to introduce people to Alexa+, Amazon’s year-old generative AI voice assistant that is plugged into Alexa devices, Alexa.com, and the Alexa mobile app, Jo Shoesmith, Amazon’s vp and global chief creative officer of brand and fixed marketing, told ADWEEK. The home functions featured in the ad are new features in Alexa+. This week, Amazon rolled out Alexa+ to all consumers in the U.S. The service is free for Prime members and $19.99 a month for non-Prime members.
