Many AI companies struggle with getting customers to understand how the product won’t take away their ability to think for themselves. Few took the opportunity of the Super Bowl to change the narrative. There is no greater opportunity to reach 123 million live viewers at once and get massive publicity, even if it cost $7 million for a 30-second spot.
While many tech evangelists proclaim that artificial intelligence is the future, the majority of the public remains skeptical. According to recent Pew Research Study, 52 percent of Americans are “more concerned than excited about the development of artificial intelligence.” Only 10 percent are more excited than worried about the possibilities.
When Chat GPT launched, people were amazed at how it could write essays or create scripts based on dialogue from their favorite shows. That’s changing as more stories emerge about AI replacing jobs and the need for regulation.
“There was a sense of awe and awe,” said co-founder and chief creative officer of advertising agency Walrus, Deacon Webster. “And then there was a negative feeling like, ‘Oh my God, none of us knowledge workers are going to have a job.’
There are a lot of winners and losers among the messages that brands attempt in the big Super Bowl advertising bets. The AI was chasing an image refresh. Sunday was the first step in achieving that.
“The Super Bowl is the last great mass gathering,” Webster said. “It allows you to get out there and put some brand messages in front of tons and tons of people. I think no matter how many one-to-one ads are out there, there’s something about a shared experience.”
In Microsoft’s Super Bowl ad, a group of people overcome challenges ranging from opening their own business to earning a college degree. It is not only thanks to their sensitivity and ingenuity. It’s also thanks to the help of Copilot, Microsoft’s “daily AI companion.”
“There’s a bit of skepticism, hesitance as to how someone can use something so new but not know that it’s actually a really accessible, relevant and simple tool to use,” said Divya Kumar. MicrosoftGM of search and marketing AI. “AI search has been in the market for 20 years. So we want to bridge that gap between early adopters and mainstream consumers.”
Skepticism even among early adopters of Microsoft’s latest artificial intelligence is an issue, especially because of the price, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday.
Etsy showed how the AI-powered gifting feature could help find the perfect gift for France. Google Pixel’s ad focused on how its tools help the visually impaired to take pictures. And, Mass strike shown how AI tools could help fight cyber attacks; in a western cyberpunk themed ad.
“It really gives companies an opportunity, especially with advertising, to make the case for how this is going to be positive for people for humanity and to be able to see it in terms of creating a positive impact,” he said. Gaurav Misra, CEO of Captions AI video creation software.
Creations creates videos in real time, which raises concerns about how the technology could be misused to manipulate content and create disinformation. It can also help people connect, as is recent New York Times highlighted the article about how people fell in love using AI Captions translation software. This story helped the company explain the benefits of its product.
“You can speak in English and it will look like you’re speaking French or German or something, right?” Mishra said. “It’s something that just wouldn’t have been possible before, and it opens up new possibilities for what people can do with it and how people can communicate in different languages and cultures.”
There’s no bigger stage to get your humanizing message across than the Super Bowl, said Microsoft’s Kumar. The company also timed the ad campaign around a complete redesign of Copilot’s user interface, which made messages easier to view and provided more visual examples. He used real examples from customers to create the ad.
“It’s also a good learning experience because this is a great way to reach an audience that might not otherwise be fully aware of what Copilot can do and then learn from that experience in the upcoming marketing beats we want to do” , he said.
Microsoft recently expanded Copilot’s reach to the small business community and launched a new premium subscription for individuals.
David Jones, founder and CEO of the Brandtech Group, said what America witnessed on Sunday was the first attempt to make people understand that artificial intelligence will change every aspect of our lives by making everything better, faster and cheaper.
“What we saw at the Super Bowl is the first embryonic steps in this, but very soon it will be as pervasive as mobile or the Internet or electricity,” said Jones, whose company focuses on digital and artificial intelligence marketing firms. “Nobody is asking today ‘how will we be sold the internet’ or ‘how will we be sold the mobile phone.’ They are at the heart of everything we do. (Genetic) AI will be the same, but on steroids.”