In the advertising game that is taking place before the big football game, Amazon is running with a crop of heavy hitters who are leading the way in digital engagement before anyone turns on a television this Sunday. Amazon’s Alexa ad, which features a host of celebrities filling in when the tech-giant’s AI assistant loses her voice, is in the thick of the top five, going up against spots for Doritos/Mountain Dew, NBC’s “This Is Us,” Budweiser and the film “Dundee.” With Super Bowl LII still two days away, the days are long gone when advertisers would get all of… Read More
New England Patriots QB Tom Brady and his coach Bill Belichick are going after their sixth NFL championship, but Jeff Bezos may very well be the subject of Monday water-cooler talk following next month’s Super Bowl Sunday. The Amazon CEO stars in the Seattle tech giant’s new Super Bowl ad, which was teased Friday in a 30-second preview clip. The ad, titled “Did Alexa Lose Her Voice?” features a woman in her bathroom asking Alexa — Amazon’s popular voice assistant — about the weather in Austin, Texas, (which just happens to be a final-20 candidate for Amazon’s second headquarters). Alexa… Read More
TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: From startups to streaming, sports tech innovation will be front-and-center at the Super Bowl on Feb. 4. NBC announced this week that it will use 106 cameras to broadcast Super Bowl LII at the high-tech U.S. Bank Stadium, including 20 pylon cameras and two “SkyCams,” which provides a Madden-like view from above. NBC used it earlier this season and this is the first time dual SkyCams will be used during a Super Bowl broadcast. NBC, which will bring more than 500 staff on site for the big game next week in Minneapolis, is… Read More
It’s Bill Gates vs. Roger Federer, round two. The Microsoft co-founder and tennis legend are getting together on the court again to help raise money for children’s education in Africa via the Roger Federer Foundation. They first duked it out in Seattle this past April, meeting at KeyArena in front of a sold-out crowd that enjoyed a fun battle with Gates, Federer, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, and American tennis star John Isner. On March 5 they’ll do it again for “Match for Africa 5,” this time welcoming another top-ranked American tennis player, Jack Sock, and NBC’s Today show host Savannah Guthrie at the… Read More
News Brief: When it comes to the U.S. military, football trumps the government shutdown, even without Boeing’s help. The American Forces Network essentially went off the air once this weekend’s shutdown took effect, which suggested that it wouldn’t be airing NFL football playoffs for overseas military families. That sparked an outcry, and an offer from Boeing to “do whatever needed” to get the games on the air. In the end, the Department of Defense gave the go-ahead to revive two channels, AFN News and AFN Sports, and broadcast today’s conference championships. Boeing, meanwhile, got a nice tweet-out from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee… Read More
