People may debate which Super Bowl ad was the perfect, but there’s no doubt which was essentially the most consequential — and never in a way the brand wanted.
The Ring ad “Search Party” ran in the third quarter of the sport, and it’s easy to understand why someone thought it was idea: It’s about finding lost dogs. Who isn’t in favor of that? In general? Practically no person. In this specific case? A complete lot of individuals. Because it was specifically about using Ring’s networked, AI-enabled cameras to find lost dogs.
There was an enormous disconnect between what the ad showed and what people understood it to show. Clearly, executives at Ring (an Amazon subsidiary) thought that images of a dog being tracked from house to house would give consumers warm fuzzies. In reality, it gave them the willies because they saw a mass surveillance device in motion.
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The ad did in 30 seconds what security and civil rights experts had been trying to do for years: Educate the general public in regards to the real problem with Ring. And the general public reacted quickly. Here are some headlines from the subsequent day:
- Why are people disconnecting or destroying their Ring cameras?(*30*)
- ‘Terrifying’ Super Bowl industrial has people vowing to never buy this popular product(*30*)
- Amazon Ring’s lost dog ad sparks backlash amid fears of mass surveillance(*30*)
That happened since the only individuals who believed the ad were on Ring’s payroll. As WeRateDogs’ Matt Nelson said in a video that quickly went viral:
“Neither Ring’s products nor business model are built around finding lost pets, but fairly making a lucrative mass surveillance network by turning private homes into surveillance outposts and well-meaning neighbors into informants for ICE and other government agencies.”
(WeRateDogs began as a preferred social media account humorously “rating” dogs and has since grown right into a respected charity that funds veterinary care. Nelson has built a big, loyal following — and carries real credibility with that audience.)
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Nelson also pointed to Ring’s partnership with the private surveillance firm Flock Safety. Through that integration, Ring footage could possibly be accessed by law enforcement via a community-request system that didn’t require a standard warrant. Data obtained through those channels has been shared with federal agencies, including ICE, the FBI and the Navy.
That partnership ended last Friday, when “Amazon’s Ring cancels Flock partnership amid Super Bowl ad backlash.”
What marketers need to know
Smart brands confront their reputational baggage directly or design around it. BMW recognized its polarizing image and repositioned Mini because the antidote. Ring did the alternative — it built a feel-good narrative across the very capability that fuels public discomfort.
In an AI-powered world, you can not reframe risk with sentimentality. If the general public sees surveillance, no amount of lost puppies will change the lens.
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