Google Assistant and Alexa Celebrate ‘The Big Game’
Amazon and Google have prepped their respective voice assistants for Super Bowl LV, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they are discussing the matter. When you want to talk to them about the Super Bowl, you’ll have to refer to ‘the Big Game’ instead.
Talk a Big Game
Alexa and Google Assistant have both been updated with facts and predictions to discuss the Super Bowl. You can ask Google Assistant or Alexa, “who is going to win the big game?” or for facts about football to make conversation. You can ask Google Assistant for help talking like a football fan, or ask Alexa to play the Big Game playlist or for a “football burn” if you want to come up with some trash talk. Neither voice assistant has any reference to the Super Bowl, likely as a way to avoid any copyright or trademark disputes with the NFL.
“As the returning champs take on the hometown team this Sunday, you may be feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when we could pack into sold-out arenas,” Google wrote in a blog post. “But don’t worry, some game day traditions live on. We have a few trick plays up our sleeve to help you plan your at-home game day experience.”
Ad Up
One difference between last year’s Super Bowl and this year is in the advertising. Amazon is running an ad for its Alexa-enabled devices that turns Michael B. Jordan into an Alexa device. The comparison between him and the new, spherical Amazon Echo smart speaker shows off what the Echo can do even if it’s not quite as enticing as the “Black Panther” star.
Last year, both Alexa and Google Assistant had a turn in the advertising bonanza. Amazon ran an elaborate historical reimagining of history if Alexa had been around. It’s a lot more involved than the more intimate scale of the new ad. Google appears to be skipping the Super Bowl ad effort this year. It may have been difficult to come up with an idea that beats last year’s “Loretta.” The ad spot showed a widower using the voice assistant to help remember his wife, Loretta. The ad shows the screen of a computer or smart display with an older man’s voiceover, who starts asking Google Assistant for help remembering his late wife with photos, facts, and movies. In a bit of irony, ads this year would be much more likely to have a limited number of people and focus on emotions as social distancing puts restraints on crowds.
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