Have your slop and eat it, too. At least, that seems to be the strategy for some brands using generative AI.<\/p>\n
In recent months, brands like Dollar Shave Club, Almond Breeze, and Equinox have all used AI-generated content while also making fun of AI \u201cslop\u201d in creative campaigns. Almond Breeze and Equinox specifically took aim at the often outrageous results of AI image generation, showing everything from boy bands in space to Justin Trudeau pole dancing as a way to contrast with their products\u2019 real ingredients and results.<\/p>\n
While \u201cslop\u201d ads may seem like the latest iteration of anti-AI advertising, marketers behind the campaigns told us they\u2019re not actually against the technology. Instead, the ads seem to tap into growing consumer sentiment about the technology, while still taking advantage of the benefits that AI tools can sometimes deliver.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is a cultural touchpoint and something that\u2019s very topical right now,\u201d Quinn Gawronski, senior director of content at marketing platform Props, told Marketing Brew. \u201cA lot of these companies are aware of the backlash that brands have been receiving who used it unironically.\u201d<\/p>\n
To outsiders, however, the satirical use of the technology may not always be clear, and some experts warned that the approach could stand to alienate both pro- and anti-AI crowds as debates around generative AI in creative campaigns continue.<\/p>\n
Question everything<\/strong><\/h2>\nLast fall, an out-of-home campaign for the wearable AI tech Friend went viral for all the wrong reasons when consumers and brands like Heineken<\/span> pushed back on the campaign\u2019s message that a piece of technology could replace real relationships. Brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald\u2019s Netherlands, and Meta have also dealt with blowback to their AI-generated campaigns.<\/p>\nAlmond Breeze\u2019s \u201cThe Pitch\u201d ad tangentially acknowledges the reality of AI-supported advertising, depicting the Jonas Brothers\u2019s brand partnership agents pitching them on a series of AI-generated campaign videos that include the brothers floating in space, being shirtless in a villa, and riding an almond while dressed as milkmen.<\/p>\n
Omid Amidi, chief creative officer at McKinney, the creative agency behind the campaign, told us the creative was inspired by a Sora video that Kevin Jonas sent during the ideation process, as well as the Jonas Brothers\u2019s personal experience of fielding ridiculous ideas. The idea of AI-generated slop, he said, was \u201ca great way to poke fun at\u201d their experiences while highlighting the brand message that \u201cwhen something\u2019s good, you don\u2019t need to add additives and artificialness to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almond Breeze\u2019s \u201cThe Pitch\u201d ad tangentially acknowledges the reality of AI-supported advertising, depicting the Jonas Brothers\u2019s brand partnership agents pitching them on a series of AI-generated campaign videos that include the brothers floating in space, being shirtless in a villa, and riding an almond while dressed as milkmen.<\/p>\n
Omid Amidi, chief creative officer at McKinney, the creative agency behind the campaign, told us the creative was inspired by a Sora video that Kevin Jonas sent during the ideation process, as well as the Jonas Brothers\u2019s personal experience of fielding ridiculous ideas. The idea of AI-generated slop, he said, was \u201ca great way to poke fun at\u201d their experiences while highlighting the brand message that \u201cwhen something\u2019s good, you don\u2019t need to add additives and artificialness to it.\u201d<\/p>\n