Megan Thee Stallion has big plans for Amazon Prime Day, July 16-17. With so many deals, she imagines dropping the Stallion and replacing it with a handful of different Megans, like cosplayer ( a nod to her convention appearances in costume), gamer, lifeguard and chef (yes!).

Created in-house by Amazon, the 2-minute film below features an original song.

“It’s Priiiiiiiime Day” is catchy, inspired by Megan’s actual interests and will be included as a bonus track on MEGAN, her album dropping June 28.

Directed by Dave Meyers and Mia Barnes from Radical Media, the music vid begins with Megan Thee Cosplayer, Stylist and Unboxer.

“With just one click you can have anything, the only downside is that it don’t come with me,” she proclaims.

Picks include early deals on items from Megan’s Hot Girl Summer Tour merch, like shorts and beachwear.

“I can change my hobby how I change my man. I could send a gift saying ‘we should just be friends,'” says Megan Thee Chef.

And look out for the Amazon boxes that are… cake!

There has been a ton of research that points to how music can either make or break an ad. It’s no secret that tracks can affect audiences’ emotions, make spots memorable, and hopefully lead to sales. But there isn’t much discussed about how creative storytelling can give a song new life and modern relevancy by introducing it to new audiences.

Storytime. 

Amazon tapped W+K London to partner with Prime to build a cohesive identity for the membership’s fundamental values of savings, convenience and entertainment. The goal was to highlight the benefits of Prime—speed, free delivery, exclusive deals, music, movies, series, podcasts—and develop an emotional connection with customers. Together, we aligned on an approach to show how Prime is able to get you closer and deeper into your passions and interests. In March 2023, we launched “It’s on Prime,” with a hero film directed by Olivia Wilde and airing during the Academy Awards.

You might be asking yourself, “Why is this relevant a year later?” We’ll get there. We promise.

The film, “Tache,” tells the story of a teenage girl who ultimately embraces her facial hair. The spot follows an emotional rollercoaster as she comes to terms with her new image. Initially, she is dismayed, until she realizes that some of her cherished icons—especially Freddie Mercury—all have mustaches too. She struts into school with newfound confidence, channeling her inner Freddie, wearing a flamboyant yellow jacket purchased on Prime. 

When we were coming up with this concept, we knew we had to find an amazing soundtrack with swagger, one that could land the key scene of our hero’s strut down the school hallway. Given Queen’s epic catalog, it would make sense to go with a beloved track like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are The Champions,” “Radio Gaga” or even “I Want to Break Free.” And we did consider some of those—but they felt too expected. Too predictable. 

Instead, we set the story to the beat of a lesser-known tune: Queen’s 1982 deep cut “Cool Cat.” Why? Well, we wanted something that was not only surprising and distinctive but also aligned with Prime’s new positioning. A song that represented the depth of passions of real people like our hero.

Little did we know that this approach would not only lead to a successful ad but also introduce a song to a new generation and give “Cool Cat” an unexpected rebirth.

How did we do it, and what do we mean by rebirth, you ask? We listened to pretty much every song Queen recorded. When we came across “Cool Cat,” it was one of those moments when it all clicked. The track had that laid-back confidence we were aiming for. The film’s director agreed, as did the Amazon Prime team. Queen’s team was incredibly excited by the opportunity and supported the strong message of self-love and expression the ad promoted.

When the commercial launched, we were floored by the positive reactions and comments on social media—both for the ad and the song. On the heels of the spot’s debut, “Cool Cat” gained sales and plays at a phenomenal rate, as streams of the song on Amazon Music increased 800 percent month-over-month from February to March 2023.

The song even entered the top 10 of Billboard’s Digital Rock chart for the first time. This led the band to re-release it as a single in 2024 on Record Store Day—noting that a big part of the decision was due to the success of Amazon’s “Tache” film. 

It’s clear that creative content that makes a splash in pop culture and resonates with audiences can also lead to an unexpected affinity towards previously released music. We’re seeing it across entertainment verticals such as TV (Stranger Things—”Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush) and movies (Salt Burn—”Murder on the Dance Floor” by Sophie Ellis Bextor and most recently, Anyone But You—”Unwritten” by Natasha Beddingfield). 

And now, we’re seeing it in advertising, too. Look for this trend to continue, with more forgotten and overlooked tracks making comebacks and helping build brands.

Tom Brady sure got animated during Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

We’re not talking about Tom’s on-field performance, which was pretty lackluster, but the future NFL Hall of Famer’s appearance in Prime’s latest TNF promo:

Created by Imaginary Forces—renowned for its title sequences, including the Emmy-winning openings to Mad Men and Stranger Things—the fun, funky clips hype each matchup with historical team highlights set to hot beats. For example, in last night’s spot, we heard an ecstatic call proclaiming, “The Buccaneers are kings of the world!” That hailed from the conclusion of their 2020 Super Bowl win. (Sorry, the Bucs won’t don the crown this year.) The agency drew inspiration from current trends in movie and TV title sequences, presenting different players, cityscapes, stadiums, jerseys and tunes each week.

Eschewing live-action footage, which “look like everything else in sports,” Imaginary Forces chose “a dramatic and whimsical approach, with simple shapes and geometric patterns, which is totally opposite from what the audience is used to seeing for the NFL,” creative director Grant Lau tells Muse. Rather than serve up “high-end, rendered 3D hyper-realistic stuff, we wanted to do the opposite. We wanted to evoke something familiar and historical,” he says.

Indeed, the style feels fresh yet familiar, a chill graphical twist on classic themes, evoking fans’ fondest memories. “Football rallies communities together to root for a common purpose, and our intros are a key part of telling that story,” Lau says.

The animations provide a neat contrast with last month’s freaky elongated “Prime Ball” play in the run-up to TNF’s launch. (For the record, ratings have been mixed so far, and heading in the wrong direction.)

See other installments of the campaign below:

CREDITS

• Washington Commanders vs. Chicago Bears
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat
creative director: grant lau
technical director: jake ferguson
editor: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: lyuben dimitrov, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artist: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista
legend lane designer: angela zhu
legend lane illustrator: lilly lin
designers: ned piyadarakorn, angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kevin sanchez
2D: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat
creative director: grant lau
technical director: jake ferguson
editor: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: lyuben dimitrov, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artist: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista
lead illustrator: tomoki echigo
designers: ned piyadarakorn, angela zhu, lilly lin, steve fuller, chris salvador, kevin sanchez
2D: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Miami Dolphins vs. Cincinnati Bengals
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

What would Rapunzel, the fairy tale princess with super-long locks, do with a subscription to Amazon Prime? And how might Cleopatra, ruler of Egypt from 51–30 B.C., make use of the service?

I, for one, feared we’d never know. But Prime answers such questions in a pair of diverting ads developed in-house with creative agency Joint London and Hungry Man director Wayne McClammy.

So, Cleo orders gifts for her subjects (inspired by Coming 2 America on Prime Video, of course!). And Rapunzel buys a ladder to escape that lofty tower (better luck next time, sweet prince).

To stretch a Prime metaphor, McClammy and Oscar-winning cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt deliver the goods, packing lots of fun, funky imagery and action into each half-minute package. (The former recently earned an Emmy nomination for his Amazon Alexa Super Bowl commercial featuring Michael B. Jordan.) To their credit, these new spots, themed “Prime Changes Everything,” play like epic mini-movies, a style Amazon has successfully adopted before in spots for Alexa.

“Leveraging fairy tales and historical heroes to highlight how Prime opens up new possibilities is a relatable theme, considering the increasing impact Prime has in our daily lives,” a company rep tells Muse. “We’re trying to reach new and tenured Prime members, as well as Amazon customers who haven’t yet signed up for Prime.”

“For ‘Rapunzel,’ the hair extensions were incredibly elaborate and heavy for the talent—it required lots of re-styling and a quick pace to shooting,” the rep says. “In ‘Cleopatra,’ we shot in two days in the Mojave desert. It was 100-plus degrees, and both days we had to wrap early due to 40 mile-per-hour winds, which made it nearly impossible to shoot and required multiple people to hold down each tent for the final shots.”

Both ads boast winning soundtracks, with the ebullient synth-hop of Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé’s “Feeling Myself” powering “Rapunzel,” while Sniff ‘n’ the Tears’ shimmery new-wave track “Driver’s Seat” gives “Cleopatra” a boost.

Reappraising myths and tales of yore, with postmodern panache or through a progressive lens, feels right for our wearying times, and brands are going all in. Examples range from Adam Driver’s campy turn as a centaur for Burberry to Billie’s empowering Pride Month fairy stories, including one with a “hella gay” Rapunzel.

CREDITS

Amazon Team
Simon Morris, Jo Shoesmith, Colin Gaul, Nicole Jue, Nick Gesualdi

Agency & Production
Agency – Joint London
Agency Creative Team – Algy Sharman, Jack Broug, PJ Kirby, Rory Robinson
Agency Producers – Russell Taylor, Hannah Kessler
Production Company – Hungry Man
Director – Wayne McClammy
Director of Photography – Erik Messerschmidt
Executive Producer – Rick Jarjoura
Edit House – The Den
Editor – Christjan Jordan
Post-Production – ETC London
Post Supervision – Parliament LA
Sound – Factory
Sound Engineer – Jon Clarke