OpenAI made a significant entrance into Super Bowl advertising with a 60-second commercial titled “The Intelligence Age,” which aired during Super Bowl LIX. The advertisement, costing approximately $14 million, utilized a pointillism-inspired animation to depict humanity’s technological milestones—from the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel to modern achievements like DNA sequencing and space exploration. The narrative culminated with the introduction of ChatGPT, positioning it as the next step in this lineage of innovation.
Kate Rouch, OpenAI’s Chief Marketing Officer, emphasized that the ad was designed to resonate with the vast Super Bowl audience, many of whom might be unfamiliar with artificial intelligence. The goal was to highlight the practical applications of AI in everyday life, such as drafting business plans and offering language tutoring, rather than delving into concepts like artificial general intelligence or superintelligence.
Interestingly, while OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora, was employed during the brainstorming phase, the final animation was crafted entirely by human artists. Rouch noted that this approach was intentional, celebrating human creativity and illustrating how AI serves as an extension of it.
This move into mainstream advertising marks a strategic shift for OpenAI, which has previously relied on word-of-mouth and partnerships to promote ChatGPT. With over 300 million weekly active users since its 2022 launch, the company aims to further broaden its reach and familiarize a wider audience with AI’s potential.
The advertisement’s distinctive visual style and narrative approach have sparked discussions about the role of AI in society and its portrayal in media. By aligning ChatGPT with humanity’s greatest inventions, OpenAI seeks to position its technology as an integral part of the ongoing journey of human innovation.
Credit: BusinessInsider and TechRadar
