ChatGPT's New Ads Are Kinda Cute

Welcome back! This was supposed to be a weekly newsletter. I skipped a week. I’m human. You’ll live. This week we’re actually not talking social media content. Which I know is what you signed up for. But ChatGPT just dropped an ad campaign, and it’s worth having a….chat about.

I’m so sorry.

This cute little AI startup called OpenAI decided to do some silly little TV spots for its first ever major marketing campaign. They partnered with Isle of Any for a few ads that highlight everyday use cases of ChatGPT for young people.

The marketing world is going bananas about it in all kinds of paywalled articles, mainly because they’re shocked that OpenAI and Sam Altman had any emotional capacity to begin with.

But the use cases they show are actually very real. I couldn’t pin down every single spot (see: paywalls), but here are three that stood out

A guy uses ChatGPT to get better at doing pull-ups. Very relatable since I use ChatGPT as my personal trainer all the time. And it doesn’t pester me to buy a 12 pack of training sessions or upgrade my membership.

A girl uses ChatGPT to figure out what to cook for a guy she’s seeing without coming across like a total psychopath. I, too, use ChatGPT to navigate dating: everything from choosing nonchalant meals to contemplating a full-on breakup. (I wish I was joking)

A guy uses ChatGPT to plan a road trip with his sister. Very relatable as a lot of siblings drift apart in their 20s. I’d do the same thing if my sister wasn’t busy keeping a literal toddler alive.

I make comedy content for tech startups, so I’m constantly talking to founders about marketing. And like clockwork, the first thing out of their mouths is value prop and ROI. That makes sense if you’re pitching investors all day. But the tech world, especially AI, seems to forget that most of their actual users aren’t billionaires.

Every piece of technology we actually use fills a human need. And those needs come straight out of lived experience and emotion. That’s why it’s so hard to measure what makes a “successful” campaign. It’s also why I think OpenAI and Isle of Any nailed this one. They didn’t pitch features. They framed ChatGPT as a natural extension of everyday life: lighthearted, sincere scenarios punctuated by the actual prompts that made them happen.

And honestly, I felt seen. Young people are more vulnerable with ChatGPT than they are with their Notes app. When that prompt flashed in the date night spot, I immediately pictured her on the subway after work, spiraling about what to cook before her date tomorrow. Definitely didn’t remind me of my own dating life!

What really works is the way the ads show the solution in retrospect, not in action. It’s like pulling back the curtain on how people actually operate today. It reminds us that this isn’t sci-fi, it’s just normal. Ads like this help normalize it even further.

That balance of function and utility on one side and emotional pull on the other is exactly what’s missing from most tech ads. Which is why these spots hit so hard.

I couldn’t help but notice OpenAI didn’t post these ads on their socials. Honestly, I get it. I don’t think they would have been received as well with a comment section. I can already imagine the comment section.

“now show him using it to dump her 😩”

TV spots are different from in-feed social videos. Social content is earned attention - you have to convince someone not to scroll away. On TV, no one’s flipping the channel just for an ad. They might mute it, but the spot still plays. That gives you more room to immerse people in a fantasy world without reality-check commentary.

Tech companies love painting these romanticized versions of the world their products live in. It’s easier to pull off in a TV ad. But social media is the town hall of the internet. It’s the Jehovah’s Witnesses on your college quad trying to sell you something. You either show real value and honesty or you’ll get told to fuck off. IMO, any AI company thinking of running this exact playbook on social should proceed with caution.

I watched these ads in AdWeek articles (which also had ad placements before them) so there was no Roy Lee or the Rizzler trying to compete for my attention. TV creates a similar environment — you’re forced to sit there and watch, and nobody else is competing for your attention. So I was able to appreciate the content for what it was - a lighthearted, casual depiction of an insanely powerful piece of tech that has become all too casual in Gen-Z’s lives.

The ads do a great job reflecting the role ChatGPT actually plays in people’s lives. For better or worse, people are becoming dependent on it. Scary, but also kind of beautiful. People are using it to become better versions of themselves. OpenAI tastefully captured what that looks and feels like.

Binge.

I’m really new to this newsletter game so I’m appreciative of anyone who made it this far 🙏🏽 I hope you didn’t find it to grifty or scammy. I’m just trying to create a community of people who want the tech industry to be more self aware and give less stick-up-ass vibes. If you enjoyed reading, recommend it to your friends in tech, marketing, founders, whoever!

Hit me up 🤙🏾