Alex Steer

318 words | ~2 min

Just seen this for the first time. This is the US version (same creative, different voiceover artist):

I love the opening line - we're the people with the smile on the box - and the thought behind it. It's got a charm and humility that throws you, and changes how you feel about a corporation that most of us think of as giant and reliable mail-order service - from ubiquitous to familiar.

Sadly, what I love less is the thought that they've chosen to govern the whole ad: We're reinventing normal, again.

See, if you're going up against Apple, don't do what they did.

But worse, it's a tone that even Apple shouldn't have taken, the first time round. It said: we're massive, everything we do is epic, and all our new products are ipso facto revolutionary.

In other words, all the things we secretly suspect Apple thinks about itself. The brand's worst side.

The switch in the Amazon ad takes us from the best side of the brand to the worst side of pretty much every big company, and the worst side of advertising. It's pushy, arrogant and entitled. Here's a new thing, it says. We expect you to respect it.

Go with the first thought, Amazon. It's the best by a mile.

If you needed proof, here's the Post Office's new spot. It's a bit weepy and worthy, but the thought - part of everyone's story - is a cracker.