Published on November 14th, 2024 | by Alex Novus
Amazon turns up the heat down under with the launch of the ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience
This month marks a decade of Alexa globally and to celebrate the milestone, Amazon Australia has introduced a new Alexa experience, dubbed ‘Spicy Alexa’. The experience marries Alexa’s fiery Scorpio side and the insight that Aussies ask Alexa to insult them four times more often than they ask to be complimented – a trend unique to Australia!
Inspired by the fun, unique way that Aussies engage with Alexa, the ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience gives Aussies what they’re craving – hot takes and wisecracks. The experience will include the following quirky features, accessed by saying “Alexa, make it spicy” to any Amazon Echo device:
- Fiery Insults: If Alexa’s regular zingers are too mild for you, these will turn up the heat.
- Twisted Horoscopes: Your day at a sideways glance – come for the ‘cosmic insights’, stay for the snark.
- Fart Gallery: Toots for every mood! Taking customer fart fandom to rumbling new depths.
- Bad Beats: Music that’ll get you moving… away. Alexa’s ludicrous beatboxing and random raps get their spiciest treatment ever.
On the creation of the new experience, Kate Gooden, Country Manager for Amazon Alexa, Australia and New Zealand, explains, “Known for the sting of their tails, Scorpios bring their signature wit and fire to any conversation. In reaching a decade milestone, we’re excited to introduce “Spicy Alexa” – the older, wiser and spicier alter-ego to the persona that Aussies already know and love.”
Since its launch in 2014, Alexa has been on a mission to become the world’s best personal assistant, created to help make everyday life easier, with the ability to entertain, keep you organised, and stay connected. Today there are over half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in homes around the world, with millions of interactions with these devices taking place every day.
Personalising the Alexa experience to be culturally relevant for Australians has always been a priority, says Gooden. “The ANZ Alexa team is proudly local and constantly working to create a great localised experience for Aussies. In fact, before Amazon was set to launch Alexa in Australia, all the way back in 2018, we knew it would be important for Alexa to understand what a serv-o is, a sanga and even an esky. Building delightful, locally relevant experiences for Aussies is what makes our jobs so fun.”
Since launching in Australia, Alexa has become a central part of Aussie customers’ daily routines, enabling them to get things done and enjoy more time in the moment whilst also having fun at the same time. This includes:
- Thanks to Alexa’s drag name generator, a created-for-Australia experience that was built for Mardi Gras, Alexa has created thousands of drag names for Aussies, from Saucy Mornay to Mama Rosé. Just ask: ‘Alexa, what’s my drag name?’
- Alexa’s two unique localised voices, entertaining Aussies who like Alexa with a local flair, fluent in a variety of Aussie slang – from Sparrow’s Fart to Parmi (controversial for Victorians), and who even has the ability to “play a banger”, when asked.
- Savvy Aussie customers have been using time-saving, convenient routines over 279 million times in the last 12 months, seeing an increase of 40% YoY
The ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience is available for Aussie customer to experience from today by saying “Alexa, make it spicy” to any Amazon Echo device.