Amazon's Super Bowl Marketing Stunt Creates Internal Backlash Among Employees
Super Bowl week traditionally generates numerous unusual side stories, but one particular incident emerged not from commercial teasers or celebrity social media posts, but quietly within a corporate system. Just days before the championship game, Amazon employees noticed something peculiar appearing on internal organizational charts.
When a Celebrity Cameo Struck the Wrong Chord
Actor Chris Hemsworth had been briefly listed on Amazon's internal systems with the flashy title of "Chief Heartthrob" and a legitimate company email address. With the Super Bowl approaching and advertising campaigns operating at maximum capacity, this placement was clearly connected to one of the game's high-profile commercials. However, within the company walls, the reaction wasn't amusement or excitement but rather confusion, frustration, and outright anger.
Hemsworth was attached to a team related to technology featured in a Super Bowl advertisement and was even labeled as a "bar raiser"—a genuine internal designation typically reserved for employees involved in critical hiring decisions. The listing included a humorous quote attributed to the actor, as reported by Reuters: "When I'm not starring in movies, I enjoy spending time with my family, campaigning for Ad Meter votes, snake wrangling, bear wrestling, hammer throwing and a nice cinnamon scrub."
The Super Bowl Ad Context and Internal Fallout
This corporate prank was tied to a Super Bowl commercial centered around artificial intelligence technology. In the advertisement, Hemsworth imagines increasingly absurd scenarios involving an AI assistant, including being crushed by a garage door, drowning in his pool, and wrestling a bear sent after him. The commercial concludes with the assistant reassuring him that it ultimately serves as a force for good.
While this plays as dark humor on television screens, it landed quite differently within Amazon's corporate environment. The timing proved particularly problematic against a challenging backdrop of recent layoffs affecting thousands of corporate employees, including teams connected to the very technology being promoted in the advertisement. A disappointing earnings report had already significantly shaken employee morale throughout the organization.
For many Amazon workers, seeing a Hollywood celebrity inserted into the official organizational structure felt profoundly out of touch with their current reality. One employee expressed their frustration on an internal social platform, stating: "This definitely makes up for the hollow feeling of cleaning out my peer's desk and meeting him out front with his boxes given he was laid off last week." Another added more bluntly: "It's less of a joke than it is an insult to the rest of us."
The Swift Resolution and Lasting Impact
By late Thursday, the controversial moment had concluded. Hemsworth's mock corporate role was completely removed from Amazon's systems, and his profile was updated to report under a standard department head. However, the incident highlighted the delicate balance companies must maintain between external marketing efforts and internal employee relations, particularly during periods of organizational stress and workforce reductions.
The episode serves as a cautionary tale about how well-intentioned marketing stunts can inadvertently exacerbate existing workplace tensions, especially when employees are navigating the emotional and practical challenges of corporate restructuring. While Super Bowl advertisements are designed to capture national attention and generate buzz, this particular campaign demonstrated how internal perceptions can dramatically differ from external messaging, creating unintended consequences that extend far beyond the football game itself.
