AI companies including Anthropic and Amazon faced some backlash for their Super Bowl ads, which critics say sent an “out of touch” message to consumers already skeptical of using AI.
At the very least, the ads sold the wrong things, or messages (like how Amazon’s Ring can surveil neighborhoods), to the wrong people. Neither Amazon’s ads nor Anthropic’s, which jabbed at OpenAI, targeted their core AI user base. Meanwhile, OpenAI, the everyman’s chatbot company, advertised coding tools during the game, instead appealing to the tech-savvy crowd. In defense of the ads, one creative director argued they succeeded in educating the masses on AI.
“It’s expectation-setting,” said Justin Barnes, executive creative director at production studio Versus. “Brands are signaling where the lines are, what behavior is acceptable, and what will never happen.” That kind of marketing — and the damage control that comes with it — only surfaces when products become familiar enough that advertisers don’t need to share technical explanations but personality and branding, he said.