“Alexa’s Body”–directed by Wayne McClammy of Hungry Man for client Amazon out of agency Lucky Generals–has won the Super Clio as this year’s most creative Super Bowl spot.
In the commercial, a woman imagines that her Amazon Alexa assistant has the voice–and body–of actor Michael B. Jordan who dutifully obeys her commands. He, for instance, takes off his shirt to dim the lights. He also reads an audio book to her in the tub, all to the chagrin of her hapless husband.
During a virtual session on Monday (2/8), The Clio Awards gathered creators of celebrated Super Bowl spots from the past and present to decide, from the industry’s point of view, which ad was most worthy through a points system. Representatives from shops including 72andSunny, BBDO New York, Highdive Advertising and Wieden + Kennedy chose “Alexa’s Body” as the Super Clio winner.
“The writing, acting and production value all worked together to make it feel big and memorable, yet subtle and intimate all at once,” said Chad Broude, co-founder/CCO, Highdive Advertising. “Quite a creative accomplishment for Lucky Generals.”
The jury, led by Rob Reilly the non-voting commissioner and global creative chairman of McCann Worldgroup, was impressed with a wide variety of ads, but two in particular stood out: “Alexa’s Body,” and Wieden+Kennedy NY’s Bud Light Lemonade Seltzer spot titled “Last Year’s Lemons.” The latter was cited for its humorous take on the events of 2020, a lemon of a year, as well for such standout elements as production value and music selection. Ultimately, Lucky Generals’ work for Amazon scored the top prize for its combination of humor, authenticity, and restraint. The commercial was called out for having been the latest in a string of Super Bowl ads from Amazon that continued to find creative new ways to humanize its product, and the stellar acting performances of the predominantly Black cast made an impact in a year where the Black Lives Matter movement sparked important conversation about representation on screen and off.
The 7th annual Super Clio was decided by:
- Sherina Florence, group creative director, 72andSunny
- Diane Hill, EVP, group executive producer, BBDO New York
- Keith Cartwright, founder/ CCO, Cartwright
- Ruben Mercadal, associate director of film and content production, Droga5
- Margaret Johnson, CCO, Goodby Silverstein & Partners
- Chad Broude, co-founder/CCO, Highdive Advertising
- Danilo Boer, CCO, Ogilvy New York
- Aaron Kovan, chief production officer, VaynerMedia
- Colleen DeCourcy, president, Wieden+Kennedy
The Super Clio trophy, which towers above a standard Clio at 22 inches, matching the height and look of the NFL championship Lombardi trophy, will be inscribed and presented to Lucky Generals this week.
Nintendo reports lower profits as demand drops for its aging Switch console
Nintendo, the Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario franchise, said Tuesday that its profit fell 60% in the first half of the fiscal year, as demand waned for its Switch console, now in its eighth year since going on sale.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported a 108.7 billion yen ($715 million) profit for the April-September period, as sales slipped 34% from the previous year to 523 billion yen ($3.4 billion).
More than 74% of its sales revenue came from overseas, according to Nintendo, which didn't break down quarterly numbers.
Global Switch sales during the period dropped to 4.7 million machines from 6.8 million units the previous year.
But Nintendo said in a statement that Switch sales were still growing and vowed to stick to its goal of selling a Switch console to each and every individual, not just one Switch per every household.
Nintendo stuck to its earlier projection for a 300 billion yen ($2 billion) profit for the full fiscal year through March 2025, down nearly 29% from the previous fiscal year.
Annual sales were forecast to drop 23% to1.28 trillion yen ($8.4 billion).
It also lowered its Switch sales projection for the fiscal year to 12.5 million units from an earlier forecast to sell 13.5 million.
Nintendo and other game and toy makers rake in their biggest profits during the Christmas shopping season, as well as New Year's, a holiday celebrated with fanfare in Japan, when children receive cash gifts from grandparents and other relatives.
Nintendo has not yet announced details on a successor to the Switch.
Among its million-seller game software titles for the fiscal half were "Paper Mario RPG," which sold 1.95 million units since going on sale in May, and "Luigi Mansion 2... Read More