A new campaign by Sonos warns consumers of flashy smart speakers that can’t handle a simple music-related task.
The music-focused smart speaker brand released two video ads this week that feature high-tech devices offering everything but what the music users are asking for.
In “The Not-So-Smart Home vs. The Sonos home,” a woman named Cheryl asks her smart speaker to play her wake-up playlist. She is instead bombarded by everything from reminders to an unwanted call to her mother-in-law. Room by room, Cheryl desperately asks for something to play her wake-up playlist, before asking Sonos, which complies without incident.
Another spot called “Serge, The Speaker vs. The Sonos System” shows two men eager to try out a futuristic, hovering smart device called Serge. Unfortunately, Serge isn’t able to—or not allowed to—access Spotify or Pandora and when it runs out of options, simply floats away. The man then asks his Sonos system and the music plays instantly.
The “Serge” is a tongue-in-cheek jab at devices like Apple’s HomePod, which only accepts commands for Apple Music. A day before the HomePod released in February, Sonos ran a print ad in the New York Times that boasted all the music services its speakers support, compared to just one offered by “Big Tech.”
Juniper Research predicts that 55 percent of US households will own at least one smart speaker by the year 2022.
In a blog post written by Sonos chief marketing officer Joy Howard placed an emphasis on the quality of sound offered on a smart speaker. While the smart speaker market skyrockets toward $17.4 billion by 2022, Sonos says it is more concerned about the listening experience.
“We find it weird that some of the world’s biggest companies who claim to champion music and culture cut so many corners when it comes to sound,” wrote Howard. “What good is an ‘innovation’ if it ultimately devalues the things you care about most?”
