Amazon’s New Prime Commercial Says We Can Still All Get Along
A new ad for Amazon Prime looks like it's taking a poke at Donald Trump.
In the 80-second spot, an elderly priest and an imam meet up for tea at the priest's home. When it's time for the imam to take his leave, both men laugh as they struggle against aching limbs to rise from their chairs. A few minutes later, each man pulls out his smartphone and orders something on Amazon Prime, the company's service that provides, among other perks, free two-day shipping.
Several days later, the holy men receive the same package from one another: a knee brace. In church later, the priest is able to genuflect comfortably, while the imam can kneel for prayer without pain.
The timing of the ad's release—in the wake of a presidential election that brought racism and bigotry to the forefront—looks like it could be a critique of the president-elect's divisive rhetoric, especially in the wake of talk from the Trump camp about creating a Muslim registry.
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, who takes to social media sparingly, tweeted his praise of the ad:
Regardless of politics, the message is clear: Regardless of what divides us, we're all basically the same as human beings—and we all have to deal with getting old.