An innovative AI advertising initiative is making waves and may stir some controversy within the film industry.
OpenArt AI, a text-to-video platform, is launching a promotional campaign for its "Director" product in major AMC theaters across Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York this week, as confirmed exclusively to CMO Insider. This effort includes billboards in these urban centers as well as digital and social media placements.
The Director tool allows users to articulate ideas, aesthetic preferences, and storylines in everyday language, generating videos that can be up to five minutes long.
The objective of this campaign, entirely crafted in-house with the Director tool, is to ignite a trend of "vibe directing" similar to the emergence of "vibe coding," while encouraging creative newcomers to produce short dramas, music videos, or advertisements.
According to Stella Guan, OpenArt AI's head of growth and operations, the decision to target moviegoers wasn’t meant to provoke, but rather to engage an audience seen as aligned with the product's capabilities.
AI technologies have faced scrutiny in Hollywood, especially with concerns surrounding job loss and the danger of low-quality content termed "AI slop." Nevertheless, some industry figures—including notable names like Ben Affleck and Martin Scorsese—are beginning to recognize the potential of AI for enhancing productivity and technical aspects of filmmaking.
Since its establishment in 2022 by two ex-Googlers, OpenArt AI has seen its user base swell to 8 million monthly active users. The company also attracted attention earlier this year with a $30 million Series A funding round led by Canaan Partners.
The company’s in-house creative team, comprising six directors, spent four days brainstorming concepts for the advertisement using the Director product, culminating in a "movie night" screening session to finalize the chosen spot.
The advertisement features a man enjoying a hot dog on a park bench adjacent to a basketball court, where he is approached by a character described as a "coach," brandishing a whistle and a laptop. The man expresses his long-standing desire to make a film about a penguin in the desert, prompting the coach to input the idea into OpenArt, promoting the notion that any video can be created, including "micro dramas."
Despite the excitement around AI in advertising, there are notable consumer hesitations. A survey from January by IAB and Sonata Insights revealed that 30% of Gen Z individuals found brands using AI in advertisements to be "inauthentic," while 26% said they felt such ads were "disconnected," and 24% described them as "unethical."
James Poulter, CEO of the consulting firm ThreePoint Labs, advises caution, suggesting that AI companies should avoid overstating what their platforms can accomplish for novice users.
Poulter remarked, "All of the models are overselling how easy it is to create the top 1% of excellence. Even if the models can generate cinematic content, without the foundational language of cinema or directing, users may struggle to guide the model effectively."
Guan acknowledges that much of the skepticism regarding AI in creative endeavors stems from a lack of awareness about the technological advances made since its earlier versions.
She envisions that this advertising campaign will demonstrate the elevated quality of AI-generated content, asserting, "This alone serves as a great illustration of our product's capabilities and the technology behind it."
