- OpenAI’s first ever Super Bowl commercial aired during Super Bowl LIX’s first half
- The ad showcases human innovation throughout the course of history in pointillism animation style
- The ad cost roughly $14 million – and it was made entirely by humans
OpenAI revealed its first-ever Super Bowl commercial last night during Super Bowl LIX, a 60-second slot advertising ChatGPT that cost roughly $14 million – and it was made entirely by humans, with no AI involved.
The ad, entitled ‘The Intelligence Age’, showcases humanity’s greatest inventions throughout history in a black-and-white pointillism-style animation, beginning with a single pulsing dot and building through innovations including fire, space exploration, and the internet, culminating with the arrival of AI.
The ad marks the first time OpenAI has purchased a Super Bowl ad slot, which are famous for being the most expensive cost-per-second advertising in the world.
OpenAI CMO Kate Rouch told The Verge that the ad aimed to focus on practical applications of AI, rather than the future of artificial general intelligence (AGI) or ‘superintelligence’. She said, “We want the message to feel relevant to the audience that is watching the Super Bowl, which includes tens of millions of people who have no familiarity with AI,”
The ChatGPT ad was one of the standout moments from Fox’s Super Bowl LIX broadcast, alongside Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Halftime Show. As for the game itself, and incredible Philadelphia Eagles defensive performance helped the birds lift the Vince Lombardi trophy for the second time.
No AI in sight
While you might assume that OpenAI would have used one of its own tools, like its AI video generator, Sora, to create its Super Bowl ad, the animation was, as mentioned produced entirely by real people.
Rouch said Sora and other OpenAI tools were used to prototype ideas, but none were used for the actual creation of the animation. She said, “This is a celebration of human creativity and an extension of human creativity,” which is why the company opted to not use AI in the creation process.
It’s an interesting approach, considering that an ad made entirely using OpenAI’s products would have been a great showcase to a worldwide audience, and while I can see the thinking behind the company’s approach I’m still a little surprised that it didn’t take this opportunity to show what its products can do.
At the same time the Super Bowl ad aired, OpenAI CEO dropped a new blog post highlighting three observations regarding AGI (artificial general intelligence) and how it can benefit humanity. While AGI, the ability for AI to mimic human intelligence is still a while away, OpenAI’s ad will likely open up ChatGPT to an even bigger audience with an estimated 130 million viewers in the US alone.
