OpenAI
- OpenAI made its Super Bowl debut with a $14 million ad.
- The ad draws a direct line between ChatGPT and some of history’s most transformative inventions.
- OpenAI said it used a text-to-video model for brainstorming, but human artists made the final version.
OpenAI aired its first-ever Super Bowl ad on Sunday, making a $14 million statement that artificial intelligence belongs in the same category as fire, the wheel, and the internet.
The 60-second spot, titled “The Intelligence Age,” aired during the second quarter and used animation to journey through humanity’s greatest technological breakthroughs. Viewers saw a montage of defining innovations — from agriculture to space exploration — before culminating in the final moment: ChatGPT on a screen.
“This really is the dawn of a new era,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X after the ad aired.
Visually, the ad leans into OpenAI’s brand identity, using a pointillism-inspired animation style, mirroring ChatGPT’s signature blinking cursor. The company said its creative team used Sora, OpenAI’s text-to-video model, during early brainstorming but confirmed that human artists created the final animation.
OpenAI has largely relied on word-of-mouth and partnerships to grow ChatGPT, which has attracted over 300 million weekly active users since launching in 2022. The Super Bowl ad marks the company’s first big swing at mainstream consumer marketing.
Kate Rouch, who became OpenAI’s chief marketing officer in December after joining from Coinbase, said the goal was to introduce ChatGPT to millions of viewers who had never used it before.
“Our goal was to pique people’s curiosity and help us all realize how AI can open up new possibilities for us, create more fulfillment in our lives, and make us more productive, just as all the tools that came before AI did for those who came before us,” OpenAI wrote in an accompanying blog post.
The timing of the ad also comes as tech companies ramp up their AI branding efforts. Google and Meta both aired AI-focused Super Bowl commercials, with Google promoting its Gemini chatbot and Meta showcasing its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Since its launch, ChatGPT has become one of the fastest-growing consumer applications ever. The company is in talks to raise additional funding from SoftBank, which could see it valued at $300 billion. While OpenAI has been rolling out new models and exploring new revenue streams, it remains loss-making.
By putting ChatGPT in front of 130 million Super Bowl viewers, OpenAI hopes to make AI as familiar as the smartphone.
“We’re at the dawn of the intelligence age, and you can participate today,” Rouch said.
