Our story follows the adventures of Alec Baldwin as he plans this year’s most epic, celebrity A-list Super Bowl party – the #BaldwinBowl. Jason Schwartzman, Dan Marino, Missy Elliott, an epic snack stadium, and of course – ‘Alexa’ are all going to be there. The range of celebs is unexpected – they’re all known for having super-passionate fans.

A series of teaser videos, tweets, and PR leading up to the #BaldwinBowl leaves the audience imagining all the ways the Echo makes everyday life better.

But it was the partnership with hip-hop icon and Billboard Magazine’s most innovative artist, Missy Elliott, who brought Alexa’s music capabilities to life. We used the commercial to launch her unreleased single ‘Pep Rally’. The moment she called out to Alexa, Echo owners were immediately granted an exclusive release of the track. Everyone else flocked to the Internet to find out more.

We wanted people to feel like the #BaldwinBowl was not just an ad – it was happening in real-time. So, we launched a week before the game to build anticipation about what would soon be unveiled. Missy kept her 2.98 millions fans in suspense, tweeting about her attendance and the release of a new track. “@AlecBaldwin u know Missy gonna come thru! HOLLAAA”. Amazon Prime Music members also got a link to Missy’s custom party playlist.

Most importantly, we used Missy to build hype for the track and Echo’s innovative technology at the same time. When Missy asked Alexa to release ‘Pep Rally’, the whole crew starts to boogie, leaving the audience on a high note. For existing Echo owners, they were delighted to have exclusive access to the track. Non-owners flocked to the Internet to discover more about Missy, Amazon and Echo/Alexa.

The campaign was a resounding success. Despite a big investment, the business profited in many ways - overall Amazon sales we’re highest they’ve been vs. other campaigns, Amazon Prime registrations increased significantly, and it sold a record-breaking number of Echo’s. The Echo soared to the #2 position on Amazon’s bestseller list and sold out in a matter of weeks. Further, the #BaldwinBowl spot performed significantly above norm for ad memorability, brand memorability, message memorability, and it was Amazon’s most likeable ad ever tested!

The partnership with Missy Elliott pushed Alexa into pop-culture news and Amazon Prime Music went Missy crazy. For all the non-Prime members, Pep Rally, announced exclusively through our spot and Twitter, has been listened to over 1 million times on YouTube – and the video is audio only! It’s the best performing audio-only video Missy has ever uploaded.

Missy and Amazon made one heck of a powerful team.