Standup comedian Rahul Subramanian uncovers Amazon’s #TheUnconventionals

Amazon has launched a new campaign titled #TheUnconventionals, featuring stand-up comedian Rahul Subramanian. The campaign showcases executives behind the scenes at Amazon, where Subramanian asks them unconventional questions, often making them uncomfortable.

The goal of the campaign, according to Amazon, is to highlight the diverse range of roles within the organisation. Subramanian, who has a background in traditional corporate employment before becoming a comedian, adds comedic flair while showcasing the various opportunities within Amazon, including corporate offices, research and development centres, fashion studios, and fulfilment centres.

So far, Amazon has released four episodes featuring Nidhi Thakkar, head of creator programs, Amazon; Anand Jain, series development manager for Amazon MiniTV; Manish Chopra, senior art director, Amazon; and Deepti Varma, vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon India. 

In each episode, Subramanian asks about their roles, interesting aspects of their jobs, work-life balance, and more.

Each video in the series ranges from 2 to 3 minutes in duration.

In the first episode, Thakkar describes her roles and responsibilities, highlighting Amazon's organisational focus on people experience and technology (PXT). The organisation referred to this as PXT instead of referring it to HR. She also explains how Amazon uses Alexa for employee onboarding.

In the second episode, Chopra explains his role in ensuring products in the marketplace are visually presented in a way that helps customers make informed decisions.

“I have one of those ‘my mom doesn’t know what I do’ kind of jobs,” quips Nidhi Thakkar, in the third episode of the series. 

Thakkar, jokingly referred to as 'The OG Influencer' in the third episode, discusses her partnership with content creators to develop interactive shopping content on Amazon Live. 

Launched in October 2022, Amazon Live allows customers to watch, chat, and shop live while directly interacting with content creators.

The fourth episode features Anand Jain, who plays a key role in creating shows for Amazon MiniTV. Amazon MiniTV is an ad-supported streaming service available through the Amazon
shopping app, offering mini-movies, web series, and TV shows.

Before releasing the episodes, Subramanian posted on LinkedIn, asking followers what they think makes a great workplace. This caught Amazon's attention, leading to their invitation for Subramanian to visit their office.

Through this campaign, Amazon aims to provide opportunities for experimentation, exploration, training, upskilling, and role transitioning to facilitate growth for its employees.

The videos are shared on Amazon's YouTube channel and Subramanian's LinkedIn page. In the past, Subramanian has also released two stand-up specials on Amazon Prime and has appeared in multiple series on Amazon MiniTV.