Instead of getting a big celebrity to help hawk its potato chips during the big game this year, Pringles decided to let a smart speaker be the star of its Super Bowl commercial.
The ad, dubbed “Sad Device,” features two young dudes mixing and matching Pringles chip flavor combinations in a giant loft-like space. After one of the friends makes a “spicy nacho stack,” the other guy asks, “How many Pringles stack combinations are there?” This question prompts a response from the Alexa-like device on the table. “318,000,” the personal assistant explains. “Sadly, I’ll never know the joy of tasting any, for I have no hands to stack with, no mouth to taste with, no soul to feel with.” Before the sad device can finish ranting about its existential dread, one of the bros says, “Cool, play ‘Funkytown,’” prompting the smart speaker to start bumping the disco hit by Lipps Inc.
Last year, Pringles introduced the flavor-stacking concept with its first-ever Super Bowl commercial starring comedian Bill Hader. Although “Sad Device,” lacks a celebrity cameo, it’s still an entertaining commercial that works because it leans into one funny gag. By the end of the game on Sunday, the sad smart speaker may prove to be one of the break-out stars of the 2019 commercial wars.
• Pringles [YouTube]
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