WASHINGTON — Alexa can do a lot of things with a simple voice command, but Amazon’s ad for this year’s Super Bowl wonders what would happen if it could respond to those things left unsaid.
In a 90-second spot posted online, actress Scarlett Johansson and “Saturday Night Live” comedian Colin Jost see for themselves what their marriage would be like when the robotic assistant learns to read minds, but not the room.
Johansson and Jost were married in 2020 and welcomed their first child last year, though their baby doesn’t appear in the Super Bowl ad.
The commercial starts with Alexa responding to Jost’s request to get ready for the big game. Then Johansson, his wife, comments that it’s almost like the smart speaker can read minds. From there, it delves into a number of “what if…” scenarios.
In one, the couple is cuddling close in bed when Alexa announces an order being placed for mouthwash, causing Johansson to pull away and check her breath.
In another scenario, Alexa reveals Jost’s reminder to fake his own death rather than go to a show in which Johansson would play an eye-patched father — a fun nod to some questionable roles she’s been cast in before.
After the mind-reading smart speaker ruins their dinner party by revealing how they got the food to the table, the commercial snaps back to reality.
“It’s probably better Alexa can’t read your mind,” Jost says.
“Bad idea,” responds Johansson.
Jost told the Associated Press he believes every couple would related to the ad on some level.
“They exaggerated the situation that I think are grounded in reality of couples in general,” said Jost,
But if what the commercial depicts would actually happen in real life, Johansson said in a recent interview that it would be “absolutely terrifying” and they would try to “live off the grid.”
It’s not the first time Amazon has turned to an A-list celebrity to promote Alexa during the Super Bowl. Actor Michael B. Jordan starred as Alexa in last year’s ad, becoming a husband’s worst nightmare.
NBC has reportedly asked for as much as $7 million for some 30-second commercial spots for the 2022 Super Bowl. The network has announced ads for this year’s game as sold out.
A 60-second version of the ad will be televised during Super Bowl 56 on Feb. 13.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.