OpenAI aired its first Super Bowl advertisement, equating artificial intelligence to groundbreaking human inventions such as fire and the wheel. The 60-second ad, aired during the game's first half, featured unique pointillism-inspired animation showcasing technological milestones from early discoveries to modern advancements like DNA sequencing and space exploration. The ad concluded by highlighting ChatGPT's practical applications, including drafting business plans and multilingual tutoring.
The advertisement comes at a crucial time as the company faces increasing competition in the AI sector while aiming for a $300 billion valuation and targeting $11.6 billion in revenue this year. With Google and Meta also promoting AI-focused commercials during the game, OpenAI's campaign seeks to position ChatGPT as an essential tool for everyday users, not just technology enthusiasts.
Developed under the guidance of OpenAI's new Chief Marketing Officer, Kate Rouch, the commercial notably avoided using AI-generated visuals. According to The Verge report which cited Rouch, OpenAI's text-to-video model, Sora, was utilised in the brainstorming phase, the final animation was entirely crafted by human artists. Rouch emphasised that the commercial celebrates human creativity and serves as an extension of it, explaining the decision behind the artistic approach.
Unlike OpenAI's broader mission of pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI), which refers to AI capable of performing any intellectual task a human can, the ad focused on practical, everyday use cases. Rouch stated that the message aims to resonate with the Super Bowl audience, highlighting that about 130 million viewers, many with limited AI knowledge, tuned in.
One of the ad's most striking elements was the comparison of AI to fundamental human inventions. When questioned about potential criticism, Rouch defended OpenAI's stance, asserting the transformative power of the technology as central to their operations.
The campaign followed Google's withdrawal of an AI-generated Olympics ad after backlash over its emotional tone. Rouch acknowledged the entire AI industry's learning curve but stressed the importance of authenticity.