Who is on the new Amazon commercial?

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Meta tells the story of Team Amani, an East African cycling team, in a metaverse-focused spot. A mother has a talk with her daughter about “safe spending” in the latest from Amazon. And Regina King helps Vaseline promote its new line of lotions.

Shoppers will be increasingly more budget-conscious this back-to-school season, and Amazon is acknowledging such anxiety with its new campaign, out today.

The ad’s title, “Spend Less on Your Kids,” spells out Amazon’s proposal, and actress Kathryn Hahn also makes it crystal clear in the 30-second spot.

She walks a school hallway and says, “As a mom, I know kids are expensive as [school bell rings], so this year I’m just going to spend less on them.” She explains that Amazon’s low prices can help parents achieve budget goals but still deliver on school needs.

Many shoppers may be looking to save money as economic pressures continue. Inflation hit a 41-year high of 9.1% last month amid fears of a recession—even a mild one, as Bank of America just predicted.

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Prime Day spending

Amazon just wrapped its annual summer shopping holiday Amazon Prime Day, a two-day event that took place on July 12 and 13. Other retailers including Target, Walmart and Best Buy also offered various deals and discounts.

Early results showed that customers are eager to buy.

According to market research firm Numerator, the first day of Amazon Prime Day saw an average order size of $53.14, compared to $47.14 on the same Prime Day period last year. In total, shoppers spent $6 billion online in the U.S. on July 12, up 7.8% from the first day of Prime Day 2021 and the biggest day for online spending this year thus far, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index. Adobe also found that email marketing and display marketing saw big lifts as brands turned to digital channels to broadcast their deals; organic and paid search and social networks did not see as big of an increase on July 12.

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Amazon’s new push will air on national TV and in shorter increments on digital channels.  As part of the campaign, also running a Back to School shopping guide with products picked by celebrities such as Mindy Kaling, Busy Philipps and Neil Patrick Harris.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant’s internal marketing team created the new spots, which were directed by Benji Weinstein.

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Adrianne Pasquarelli

Adrianne Pasquarelli is a senior reporter at Ad Age, covering marketing in retail and finance, as well as in travel and health care. She is also a host of the Marketer’s Brief podcast and spearheads special reports including 40 Under 40 and Hottest Brands. Pasquarelli joined Ad Age in 2015 after writing for Crain's New York Business, where she also focused on the retail industry. 

Named “Joy is made,” the Amazon Holiday 2022 ad is a heart-warming story celebrating the inventive spirit of a loving father who is inspired to create a very special and thoughtful experience for his young daughter, proving joy is something we make.

Amazon Holiday 2022 ad credits

The commercial was created by the advertising agency Lucky Generals and production company Hungry Man and was directed by Academy Award-winning writer, director, and actor Taika Waititi. Originally from New Zealand, Waititi’s recent credits include Thor: Love and Thunder and Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit, indie films Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, Boy, and the Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night.

Amazon Holiday 2022 ad music

The soundtrack of the Amazon advert is “You Hold Me Up,” a new release by US Indie artist The Bones of J.R. Jones. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jonathon Linaberry created the original track to show support beyond just a conversation with a friend who was going through a tough time.

Amazon Christmas 2022 ad story

The full-length ad opens with a father and daughter in their house over the holidays, where we quickly learn that the daughter has a special attachment to her prized possession—a snow globe. As the father realizes the snow globe’s importance to his child, he is inspired to do something special.

With a bit of help from the community and Amazon, he creates a life-size version of his daughter’s treasured snow globe in their backyard greenhouse, complete with a teddy bear dressed as a snowman, swirling snow created by shredded recycled paper, and borrowed desk fans, and a mass of magical fairy lights. The big reveal demonstrates a father’s love through his resourcefulness and inventiveness, determined to make his child’s holiday a magical experience.

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