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An attempt by a US fast-food chain to hijack a voice-activated smartphone has backfired after Google appeared to block its devices from responding to a prompt in the TV commercial.
Burger King uploaded the 15-second ad to YouTube ahead of a scheduled roll-out on US television. But within hours, the marketing stunt had been rendered ineffective.
Many who watched the ad online saw it as a worrying example of marketing intrusions into their homes via new technology.
The fast-food franchise had hoped a line spoken by an actor in the ad would trigger voice-activated Google devices — such as Android phones and Google Home speakers — to search for the Whopper burger's ingredients.
The ad depicts an actor dressed as a Burger King employee holding up a Whopper and talking into the camera.
"You're watching a 15-second Burger King ad, which is unfortunately not enough time to explain all the fresh ingredients in the Whopper sandwich. But I've got an idea," the actor says, before moving closer to the camera.
"Okay, Google, what is the Whopper burger?"
Initially, the final line was reportedly able to activate Android phones or Google Home speakers within listening range of the TV, prompting them to search Wikipedia.
But attempts to test the ad on a Google smartphone by The Verge and Buzzfeed have since found the tech giant's devices are no longer moved by the audible prompt.
A spokesperson for the fast-food chain said Google had blocked its devices from responding to the ad. Google has yet to respond to the claim.
Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International, did not collaborate with Google or Wikipedia on the marketing campaign.
The ad is slated to air in prime-time slots on US television networks, as well as during popular late-night shows.
In the few hours before the clip became ineffective, mischievous users edited the Whopper's Wikipedia page to make Google devices read out absurd results.
Others took to social media with parody videos mocking the ad.
Thousands of people have commented on Burger King's YouTube page where the clip has been watched over 350,000 times.
"When you take over someones (sic) phone or tablet and have it do your own remote commands intentionally, you are hacking," one user wrote.
"Am I the only who thought this ad was kind of brilliant?" said another.
Burger King has defended the commercial, saying the company was trying to "do something exciting with the emerging technology of intelligent personal devices".
A patent filed in 2009 shows Sony is investigating ways to allow customers to interact with ads.
According to the patent, if you want the ad to end, the user has to say the name of the company aloud.
Voice-activated phones have interfered with users' phones in the past, but not always intentionally.
In January, a California TV news reporter said "Alexa, order me a dollhouse" live on air, prompting Amazon Echo devices to awaken and attempt to buy dollhouses for their owners.
Voice-powered digital assistants such as Google Home and Amazon's Echo have been largely a novelty for consumers since Apple's Siri introduced the technology to the masses in 2011.
The devices can have a conversation by understanding context and relationships, and many use them for daily activities such as sending text messages and checking appointments.
Many in the industry believe voice technology will soon become one of the main ways users interact with devices. Apple, Google and Amazon are racing to present their assistants to as many people as possible.
ABC/wires
Topics: information-and-communication, advertising, business-economics-and-finance, industry, food-and-beverage, computers-and-technology, internet-technology, united-states