Amazon is leaning straight into modern AI anxiety for its Alexa+ Super Bowl spot, with Avenger, Chris Hemsworth, embodying every worst-case scenario we’ve all half-joked about, robots turning on us included.
Created in-house at Amazon and directed by Hungryman’s Wayne McClammy, the 60-second film opens with Hemsworth entering his kitchen, snake in hand, only to discover his wife, Elsa Pataky, casually chatting with the new Alexa+. What should be a harmless domestic moment instantly triggers a spiral. To Hemsworth, Alexa+ isn’t a helpful assistant; it’s an imminent threat.
What follows is a rapid-fire montage of imagined catastrophes pulled straight from his action-hero brain. Alexa+ becomes the unseen mastermind behind increasingly unhinged scenarios, from snake encounters to a full-on bear fight, all unfolding with blockbuster intensity. Each fantasy escalates the paranoia, skewering the cultural unease surrounding artificial intelligence with absurdist flair.
The joke, of course, is the casting. Hemsworth, a man best known for wielding hammers and battling gods, is the last person you’d expect to fear a smart home device. That contrast fuels the comedy, as the ad repeatedly undercuts his fear with the reality that Alexa+ is simply doing its job.
By the time the spot lands its final beat, Hemsworth comes to terms with the fact that Alexa+ isn’t plotting his demise. If anything, it might actually make his life easier. The message is clear without being preachy: AI doesn’t have to be scary, especially when it’s built to help. Watch below:
The ad will air during the third quarter of the Big Game and follows a teaser released earlier this month showing Hemsworth trapped beneath a pool cover, fighting for his life. The full spot reveals that moment as just another exaggerated fantasy playing out in his head.
Amazon’s VP, global CCO of brand and fixed marketing, Jo Shoesmith, said the campaign is about acknowledging the societal dialogue around AI but doing so in a way that is self-aware and fun. “By casting Chris Hemsworth, the last guy on the planet you’d expect to be scared of anything, we were able to lean into the conversation and put people at ease through humour,” she explained.
“So, while the Super Bowl viewers are being entertained by action-packed scenarios like a garage door guillotine, they’re also seeing how genuinely helpful Alexa+ can be every single day.”
It’s a horror movie about nothing, and that’s exactly the point.
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