Background:
Love Has No Labels is a 2015 Emmy-winning campaign from the Ad Council. In 2021, they approached my team at Amazon for a pro-bono campaign to continue spreading the message of diversity and inclusivity to millions of Americans a day.
Insight:
In 2020, thousands of people a day asked Alexa about love, but Alexa responded with, “Sorry, I don't have human love figured out quite yet”.
Idea:
So, in an effort to make A.I. more inclusive and to spread love and inclusivity with Ad Council, we decided to update Alexa's response to "What is love?" with real people's voices—for the first time ever. We asked people to share a time when someone's everyday act of love made them feel included.
*Shortlisted for Cannes Lions, Audio & Radio Category
*6 One Show Shortlists, 1 One Show Merit Award
*6 One Show Shortlists, 1 One Show Merit Award
Campaign Film: Recording The Alexa Responses
We produced a film to capture audio-bites from real people and upload them to Alexa, as well as drive awareness of the Love Has No Labels campaign and the "Alexa, what is love?" utterance. This is the cut-down of a longer 2-minute film.
Responses from real people
For the campaign film and the device update, we interviewed 8 people in Chicago with the documentary-film director, Rodney Lucas.
For the campaign film and the device update, we interviewed 8 people in Chicago with the documentary-film director, Rodney Lucas.
On-device updates: Making A.I. more inclusive
We worked in close collaboration with the Alexa personality and engineering teams to update the response to "Alexa, what is love?" with answers from actual people from the film.
We worked in close collaboration with the Alexa personality and engineering teams to update the response to "Alexa, what is love?" with answers from actual people from the film.
Before
After
Film cut-downs on Streaming TV
The TV spot was placed across Fire TV, Amazon FreeVee, IMDb, and more—prompting people to say "Alexa, what is love?" to their Echo devices.
Where it all came together: The campaign landing page on Amazon. On a campaign landing page, we provided additional context around the campaign, the film, the director, and more expanded stories of each person—along with the same soundbites customers could hear on their Alexa devices.
Social Media: Alexa, Love Has No Labels accounts (and yes, influencers):
We took the campaign a step further by posting about it on high-visibility social accounts, and through an influencer campaign.
OOH Advertising: After the campaign's success, we were able to unlock additional budget for out-of-home advertising, including Prime Truck wraps and Amazon box advertising.
Awards & Coverage
The campaign received several shortlists and awards, including:
Cannes Lions 2022: Shortlisted in the Audio & Radio Innovation Category
The One Show: Received 6 nominations and a merit award
The Shorty Awards: Silver in Creative Use of Technology
The Shorty Awards: Audience Honor in Creative Use of Technology
The One Show: Received 6 nominations and a merit award
The Shorty Awards: Silver in Creative Use of Technology
The Shorty Awards: Audience Honor in Creative Use of Technology
The campaign received coverage from major industry publications:
Adweek: Ad Council and Amazon Spot Shows How Love and Identity Go Hand in Hand
Ad Age: Ad Council's 'Love Has No Labels' Gets Amazon's Alexa to Define Love
Muse by Clio: 'Alexa, What Is Love?' Amazon and the Ad Council Ponder Answers
SHOOT Online: Ad Council, Amazon Brand Lab, Director Rodney Lucas Ask "Alexa, What Is Love?"
Media Post: "What is love?" Ask Alexa
Reel Chicago: ‘Alexa, What Is Love?’ the Ad Council’s new Love Has No Labels campaign
Ad Age: Ad Council's 'Love Has No Labels' Gets Amazon's Alexa to Define Love
Muse by Clio: 'Alexa, What Is Love?' Amazon and the Ad Council Ponder Answers
SHOOT Online: Ad Council, Amazon Brand Lab, Director Rodney Lucas Ask "Alexa, What Is Love?"
Media Post: "What is love?" Ask Alexa
Reel Chicago: ‘Alexa, What Is Love?’ the Ad Council’s new Love Has No Labels campaign
