AI in Commercials: It's Here to Stay
The Super Bowl is an event that is known for the football. But, there are many people who watch for the commercials. They are equivalent to productions, and each costs millions of dollars to make. This year, those who tune in for these infamous commercials noticed something a little different. Artificial Intelligence had a strong presence in the lineup this year, with companies either promoting their AI services or prominently using AI in the creation of their commercial. Within recent years, AI has become more normalized. But even with this normalization, it can be jarring to see it doing something that has always had a reputation of being human creations.
The American watch company Bulova was the first company to dare promote their products on television. They launched a ten-second-long commercial in 1941, the first licensed TV advertisement. It was a simple black-and-white static image graphic that cost a total of nine dollars to be put on the air. Although it was a basic statement, it changed the projection of television commercials for good.
Brands started to desire the attention that TV ads were receiving, and as technology evolved, the quality and quantity of commercials did as well. The 1980s brought new video recording technologies that prompted brands to start to get more creative with the campaigns they were producing. It was common to see catchy jingles, celebrity endorsements, and humorous skits during the breaks in your regularly scheduled TV programming.
Inside the industry, the popularity of TV commercials was thriving. But, viewers tended to not like having interruptions while watching their shows. This led to the release of TiVo, a digital video recorder that could allow consumers to skip these commercials that were starting to become annoyances. Throughout the 2000s, Smart TVs, social media, and streaming services such as Netflix emerged. They were fulfilling the need that cable television used to, and the demand for cable, along with its many advertisements, started to wane. This forced the ad industry to have to adapt and change. They needed to get their messages out into the world quickly and easily, so they could continue to capture viewers’ attentions.
Artificial Intelligence was able to provide a solution that companies in the ad industry needed. Adding the use of AI into the creation of commercials was a sure-fire way to accelerate the rate of production. Companies could produce advertisements fast and budget-friendly without having to replace their human teams, only using the AI to streamline the process. This started in 2013, and hasn’t slowed down since.
There were 66 commercials that aired during Super Bowl LX, and 15 of them either used AI in their creation or were advertising AI services. Tech companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all had spots advertising their AI programs with the intent of capturing a new audience. Even companies that aren’t tech-related joined in on the trend. Svedka, a vodka brand, created and aired what they are calling the first primarily AI-generated Super Bowl commercial.
AI’s presence in the most recent Super Bowl is something that wasn’t necessarily unexpected, but definitely wasn’t welcomed by viewers. The evolution of television commercials has grown with the changing technologies and consumer demands. It shouldn’t be surprising that AI is a prominent feature in this industry, nor that it has grown so rapidly, creating the expectation that we will see even more AI used in commercials in the very near future.
Was there an AI Super Bowl commercial that you loved? One that you didn’t love? Leave a comment below.