Amazon speaker advert cleared

A television advert for Amazon’s Echo Dot smart speaker has been cleared by the regulator after it activated a viewer’s own device and placed an order for cat food.

The ad, seen on 5 October, showed people using the device in various situations and included a man’s voice saying: “Alexa, reorder Purina cat food.” The viewer, who said their Echo Dot ordered cat food after the ad played, complained that the ad was socially irresponsible. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acknowledged that Amazon had taken steps to prevent their ads interacting with devices that might “overhear” them.

The ASA said: “In this instance, the complainant had cancelled the order themselves, but we understood that had they not done so, the order would nonetheless have been cancelled automatically.