9 ms·

This looks awful. Imagine a house full of branded buttons. Yuk. Though I'm sure my toddler would love pressing them endlessly. And all that packaging in the vid

This looks awful. Imagine a house full of branded buttons. Yuk. Though I'm sure my toddler would love pressing them endlessly. And all that packaging in the video, the horror. It must an April fools joke.

mcphage 12y ago
I don't think it is.
jader201 12y ago
The timing is terrible. Even if it's not a joke, they've just set themselves up for this exact comment. Surely someone would have thought of this? Just seems like a really bad choice -- too bad for a company like Amazon to make (the timing, that is, coupled with a highly-branded product like this).
- walterbell 12y ago
  It's excellent timing, no one knows if it's a "joke". Amazon gets coverage either way.
  - jader201 12y ago
    I guess, if your philosophy is "bad coverage is still coverage". But hasn't this happened with an Amazon product announcement before, and backfired? Amazon Echo comes to mind. Not even sure that was around April fools, but my point is, bad coverage can, and has often, backfired.
- function_seven 12y ago
  April Fools jokes don't happen until tomorrow, no? I can't remember any jokes happening on March 31.
  - brlewis 12y ago
    It's April 1 in much of the eastern hemisphere.
  - jader201 12y ago
    That's sort of my point. Most people, with April Fools just around the corner (and already here, for some), it will still be used in mockery comments about the product, even though they know it's a real product.
    - mcbutterbunz 12y ago
      Its a great marketing opportunity. Get out in front of the other advertisements... i mean pranks.
  - asciimo 12y ago
    They're innovators.
- gokhan 12y ago
  You don't remember Google's April 1st announcement of Gmail, then. With gigabytes of storage, it was the perfect joke for the day and naturally carried by news outlets everywhere. And the joke continued on the next day, people realized that it wasn't actually a joke and, naturally, another media frenzy happened. Perfect example of guerrilla marketing IMO.
  - 27182818284 12y ago
    I completely remember that, which is why companies like Amazon should especially know better.
    - metamet 12y ago
      ... wait, what? You specifically remember Gmail's launch (a good thing), and Gmail's launch had multiple phases of publicity (also a good thing). What should Amazon know better about? Gmail launching on April Fools was a net positive thing.
wspeirs 12y ago
I don't know, looks amazing to me. Yea the branded button isn't great, but let's face it, it's going to be sitting next to the branded box/bottle anyway. If your toddler presses it, the worst they can do is order once. It's configured to only allow one order until the item is delivered. That isn't to say your toddler still cannot do damage...
- 3princip 12y ago
  If I have to approve orders on my phone as the video suggests, I may as well create the order then and there. Something about that video (and much of my opinion is based on the video and look of the product) makes me uneasy. It's suggesting my life is a series of purchases and top-ups, and I will be happier when I can click my branded button. Like a junkie or something. When the woman runs out of coffee it looks like she's lost a loved one. Quickly, press the button! A dystopian future, only today. Then there are questions about when to press the button, will I have to factor delivery time and frequency of use to arrive at that answer? And will everything arrive separately? Will orders aggregate... Time will tell.
  - eric_cc 12y ago
    This a case of you seeing in the video what you want to see. Practically every advertisement ever created has happy people using a product. This is just a device meant to make life easier - stop overthinking it.
    - ryandrake 12y ago
      The difference is that while most advertisements show people happily using a product, this one shows people becoming happy merely from the act of purchasing. I also got a very uneasy "consumer junkie" vibe from it. Of course, it's in Amazon's best economic interest to normalize and associate good feelings with the ideas of endless consumption and perpetually repeating purchasing.
      - eric_cc 12y ago
hbbio 12y ago
No it's not. That was Goat Grazer. Hum, wait a minute...
shanemhansen 12y ago
This happens every year. Lots of product announcements do go out around April 1 because it's the end of first quarter. Also there's lots of B.S. april fools day jokes. Hilarity ensues.
wiredfool 12y ago
I want a Ubik button.
cjrp 12y ago
Put the button for your laundry detergent where you keep the laundry detergent - presumably somewhere a toddler can't get to.
antr 12y ago
You think having branded buttons is bad? Imagine having kids in a house full of buttons ;-)
famousactress 12y ago
Agreed, but I would give up the micro-locations of having all these buttons throughout my house for a single panel with a half dozen or 10 buttons which are configurable for products I actually re-order pretty regularly (coffee filters, etc.)
fragsworth 12y ago
> It must be an April fools joke Maybe considering their history of product announcements (Amazon Echo), they're being cautious about it this time. If it gets mocked, they'll just say "Oh it was an April Fool's joke"
- shostack 12y ago
  That's my guess. Nor eat way to test the waters with a product announcement without putting your neck fully out there.
- bduerst 12y ago
  That's terrible. Imagine being the team who built that product, only to have them say, "Too many people thought it was a joke, sorry"
Dirlewanger 12y ago
Another small step of society pulling the moral wool over their eyes in exchange for convenience...
throwawaymsft 12y ago
It seems you're more worried about your toddler having access to the button than the detergent and bleach it's next to. Why would one be out of reach but not the other?

mcphage 12y ago

I don't think it is.

jader201 12y ago

The timing is terrible. Even if it's not a joke, they've just set themselves up for this exact comment. Surely someone would have thought of this? Just seems like a really bad choice -- too bad for a company like Amazon to make (the timing, that is, coupled with a highly-branded product like this).

walterbell 12y ago
It's excellent timing, no one knows if it's a "joke". Amazon gets coverage either way.
- jader201 12y ago
  I guess, if your philosophy is "bad coverage is still coverage". But hasn't this happened with an Amazon product announcement before, and backfired? Amazon Echo comes to mind. Not even sure that was around April fools, but my point is, bad coverage can, and has often, backfired.
function_seven 12y ago
April Fools jokes don't happen until tomorrow, no? I can't remember any jokes happening on March 31.
- brlewis 12y ago
  It's April 1 in much of the eastern hemisphere.
- jader201 12y ago
  That's sort of my point. Most people, with April Fools just around the corner (and already here, for some), it will still be used in mockery comments about the product, even though they know it's a real product.
  - mcbutterbunz 12y ago
    Its a great marketing opportunity. Get out in front of the other advertisements... i mean pranks.
- asciimo 12y ago
  They're innovators.
gokhan 12y ago
You don't remember Google's April 1st announcement of Gmail, then. With gigabytes of storage, it was the perfect joke for the day and naturally carried by news outlets everywhere. And the joke continued on the next day, people realized that it wasn't actually a joke and, naturally, another media frenzy happened. Perfect example of guerrilla marketing IMO.
- 27182818284 12y ago
  I completely remember that, which is why companies like Amazon should especially know better.
  - metamet 12y ago
    ... wait, what? You specifically remember Gmail's launch (a good thing), and Gmail's launch had multiple phases of publicity (also a good thing). What should Amazon know better about? Gmail launching on April Fools was a net positive thing.

wspeirs 12y ago

I don't know, looks amazing to me. Yea the branded button isn't great, but let's face it, it's going to be sitting next to the branded box/bottle anyway. If your toddler presses it, the worst they can do is order once. It's configured to only allow one order until the item is delivered. That isn't to say your toddler still cannot do damage...

3princip 12y ago
If I have to approve orders on my phone as the video suggests, I may as well create the order then and there. Something about that video (and much of my opinion is based on the video and look of the product) makes me uneasy. It's suggesting my life is a series of purchases and top-ups, and I will be happier when I can click my branded button. Like a junkie or something. When the woman runs out of coffee it looks like she's lost a loved one. Quickly, press the button! A dystopian future, only today. Then there are questions about when to press the button, will I have to factor delivery time and frequency of use to arrive at that answer? And will everything arrive separately? Will orders aggregate... Time will tell.
- eric_cc 12y ago
  This a case of you seeing in the video what you want to see. Practically every advertisement ever created has happy people using a product. This is just a device meant to make life easier - stop overthinking it.
  - ryandrake 12y ago
    The difference is that while most advertisements show people happily using a product, this one shows people becoming happy merely from the act of purchasing. I also got a very uneasy "consumer junkie" vibe from it. Of course, it's in Amazon's best economic interest to normalize and associate good feelings with the ideas of endless consumption and perpetually repeating purchasing.
    - eric_cc 12y ago

hbbio 12y ago

No it's not. That was Goat Grazer. Hum, wait a minute...

shanemhansen 12y ago

This happens every year. Lots of product announcements do go out around April 1 because it's the end of first quarter. Also there's lots of B.S. april fools day jokes. Hilarity ensues.

wiredfool 12y ago

I want a Ubik button.

cjrp 12y ago

Put the button for your laundry detergent where you keep the laundry detergent - presumably somewhere a toddler can't get to.

antr 12y ago

You think having branded buttons is bad? Imagine having kids in a house full of buttons ;-)

famousactress 12y ago

Agreed, but I would give up the micro-locations of having all these buttons throughout my house for a single panel with a half dozen or 10 buttons which are configurable for products I actually re-order pretty regularly (coffee filters, etc.)

fragsworth 12y ago

> It must be an April fools joke Maybe considering their history of product announcements (Amazon Echo), they're being cautious about it this time. If it gets mocked, they'll just say "Oh it was an April Fool's joke"

shostack 12y ago
That's my guess. Nor eat way to test the waters with a product announcement without putting your neck fully out there.
bduerst 12y ago
That's terrible. Imagine being the team who built that product, only to have them say, "Too many people thought it was a joke, sorry"

Dirlewanger 12y ago

Another small step of society pulling the moral wool over their eyes in exchange for convenience...

throwawaymsft 12y ago

It seems you're more worried about your toddler having access to the button than the detergent and bleach it's next to. Why would one be out of reach but not the other?