Amazon Alexa "Pompeii"

The ad, by Droga5 London, transports a man to the chaos preceding the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the Italian city of Pompeii. As the volcano erupts, fires rage and residents run for their lives through the wreckage, the protagonist – dressed in more modern attire of a striped polo shirt – stands calmly and tries to get someone’s attention. “Excuse me,” he says politely. “What year is it please?”

The action suddenly cuts to the current year, showing the man in his kitchen with his daughter doing her homework nearby. “I just remembered,” he tells her. “Pompei was destroyed in 79 AD.” When she asks him what the volcano was called, he again turns to the true source that provided him with knowledge about Pompeii – Amazon Alexa.

This film is the latest in the brand’s “A voice is all you need” campaign, which merges epic and ordinary worlds to show off the power of the voice assistant. Previous instalments from last year showed a man interrupting a fantastical battle scene and another character disrupting an 18th-century opera.

It was created by Ethan Bennett and Liam Crerar, directed by Andreas Nilsson through Biscuit Filmworks and features VFX and Colour from The Mill.

AgencyAgency: Droga5
Head of Production: Chris Watling
Producer: Peter Montgomery, Chris Watling
Senior Assistant Producer: Manon Rees
Executive Creative Director: Shelly Smoller
Creative Director: Jonathan Thake
Creatives: Ethan Bennett & Liam Crerar
Account Director: Max Levine
Production Company
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Andres Nilsson
Managing Director / Executive Producer: Rupert Reynolds-Maclean
Producer: Jonathan Wang
Director of Photography: Lasse Frank
VFXVFX: The Mill
Creative Director: Wes
VFX Supervisor: Ben Turner, Dave Hempstead
Executive Producer: Clare Melia
Producer: Nicola Simmons
Shoot Supervisor: Wes
2D Lead Artist: Ben Turner, Carl Norton, Gary Driver
3D Lead Artist: Dave Hempstead
2D Artist: Giacomo Verri, Charles Dockerill, Adam Maynard
3D Artist: Ollie Hallas, Henry Medhurst, Carlo Carfora, Bethan Williams, Henrik
Holmberg, Kate Gabrielova, Paul Templeman, Vaclav Cizkovsky, Joao Pires,
Katie Bates
Finish Artist: Adam Maynard
Matte Painting: Henrik Holmberg
Animation Lead: Paul Tempelman
Production Assistant: Hannah Jarrold
Editorial: The Quarry Editor: Ben Campbell Edit Assist: Chris Hutchings Producer: Jenn Sanders