By Dan Brain, Co-founder of MAD//Fest
Here’s how the search history of an ageing surfer revealed a flaw in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘smart’ ads.
Politics, people, technology – there’s a fine line between genius and stupidity.
Case in point: French cheese is a thing of genius. However, trying to consume as much as humanly possible during a week-long holiday in Normandy is an act of stupidity. And one that found me jumping on the bedroom spinning bike that usually serves as a loyal clothes horse in a (failing) bid to halt the acceleration of middle-aged spread.
As I often do, I searched for ‘surf’ on Amazon Prime on the bedroom telly, and was served with an impressive array of surfing films to feed my appetite for escapism, from cult classics to explorations of frigid waves on Arctic islands with only Polar Bears and lots of ice for company.
What was even more impressive than the surf action was Amazon’s effort to bridge the gap between brand and performance in the pre-roll ads. I could seamlessly add the products advertised on-screen to my Amazon basket using the TV remote.
This was the smartest thing I’d seen since fictitious penguin Cody Maverick’s life-affirming adventure in Surf’s Up (a bona fide surf classic with an intelligent plot lost on many a 7-year-old). That was until I noticed something that made me more baffled than watching Nicholas Cage in The Surfer.
After searching for ‘Surf’ and watching some epic waves, I was curiously served with a stream of ads for laundry and cleaning products – Surf, Fairy, Bold, Persil, Lenor and Febreze.
Whilst I love skipping through a meadow sniffing my jumper as much as the next bloke, I can’t say that I get my kicks from fabric softeners – let alone their ads.
Amazon’s clever addressable innovation was spoiled by an overriding feeling that some less-than-genius automation was at play.
I’m surprised that the ads I see based on my searches can be so off the mark in 2026 – a time when we obsess over effectiveness, precision targeting, and justifying our existence and investment in the inexact science of creating brand magic to people who probably don’t naturally subscribe to our view of the world.
Bear in mind that Surf, Tide, Bold, Persil, Lenor and Febreze are made by just two companies – P&G and Unilever, the world’s 3rd and 5th largest global advertisers. Combined, P&G and Unilever spend in excess of $21bn per year.
Maybe these global giants know something I don’t know, and – wudya believe it – surf addicts are clean freaks too (although judging by the crew at my local beach, I seriously doubt it).
Maybe the conversion is so good that a few quid wasted on media is akin to taking a piss in the ocean – insignificant in the wider scheme of things.
Maybe I’m being overly mean about an emerging advertising channel that’ll only get smarter.
But in a time of intense financial scrutiny and scrambling around to prove effectiveness and the value of brand advertising, it doesn’t feel like a good look.
I’d be genuinely impressed to discover that I could stock up on mood-lifting 3-in-1 Surf capsules with the TV remote…if I was watching How Clean Is Your House?
But putting all your faith in the machines is a pretty gnarly move that might just wipe out trust, credibility and budget – especially when the sharks are circling.
Dan Brain is co-founder of MAD//Fest London (7-9 July, Truman Brewery). Click here for tickets
