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Why Amazon's Fire Phone commercial is really about Amazon Prime

The Amazon Fire Phone will be launching soon, and Amazon released its first Fire Phone TV commercial. But the commercial highlights that Amazon wants people to care more about Amazon Prime than the Amazon Fire Phone, writes Louis Ramirez.

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Ted S. Warren/AP/File
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos introduces the new Amazon Fire Phone June 18, 2014, in Seattle. The Amazon Fire Phone will be launching soon, and Amazon released its first Fire Phone TV commercial.

Amazon's flagship smartphone is hours away from launch, so to remind you of the handheld's upcoming availability, Amazon has released its first Fire Phone television commercial. But rather than hype the device's unique features — like its quintet of infrared cameras or built-in customer service — the 31-second promo focuses on the benefits of Amazon Prime.

The ad centers around two tech-savvy (borderline annoying) kids as they browse through Amazon's video and app catalogs from their respective Fire Phones. Seconds later, two eavesdropping adults enter the conversation, and that's when the kids commence spewing the benefits of Amazon Prime. While some may find the ad a bit odd (especially when compared to Apple's latest iPhone promo), it's not entirely surprising that Amazon would take this route.

Analysts predict the Fire Phone will generate as much as $2 billion in e-commerce sales for Amazon. So the e-tailer isn't trying to sell you a phone, but instead trying to lure you into its ecosystem. In fact, one of the phone's biggest features, the magical Firefly app, was designed for impulse buys giving users buy-on-sight capabilities.

Louis Ramirez is a senior features writer for DealNews, where this article first appeared: http://dealnews.com/features/Amazons-First-Fire-Phone-Commercial-Its-All-About-the-Prime/1107007.html

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