Super Bowl Ads Make All Things AI

AI is set to dominate the commercials during this year’s Super Bowl, with several major brands incorporating artificial intelligence into their advertisements. From tech giants like Anthropic and OpenAI to streaming services like Amazon, it seems that all things AI are taking center stage. T-Mobile showcased its Alexa Plus virtual assistant in an ad where she attempts to kill Chris Hemsworth, while Coinbase used a similar approach with its own Super Bowl ad featuring the Backstreet Boys. Meanwhile, Pepsi opted for a more traditional advertising strategy with its polar bear campaign, which surprisingly did not include any AI elements. Anthropic’s first Super Bowl ad was designed to poke fun at OpenAI and ChatGPT, using a humorous tone to highlight the differences between its own platform. In contrast, OpenAI’s ad focused on the capabilities of its Codex tool, claiming that users can “just build things” with it. Other brands made their mark during the game, including SpaceX, which brought its Starlink service to the broadcast, and Pixar, which previewed a new character called Hoppers in one of its ads. The final trailer for Ryan Gosling’s film Project Hail Mary even featured a space crab made entirely of rocks that would die for the actor. The crypto space also got in on the action, with Crypto.com rebranding itself as AI.com. But despite the hype surrounding AI and cryptocurrency, it seems unlikely that companies like Kalshi or Polymarket will be advertising during the Super Bowl this year.