Lenovo’s new ad features AI as a personalization tool to win over a largely skeptical public

Lenovo’s AI-powered laptops are designed to learn from you, protect you and help you be more … you. These claims in Lenovo’s new “You” campaign for its line of computers illustrate how developments in AI are allowing tech brands to promise so much more to consumers. But they also point to the technology’s insidious side, which many people view as encroaching too far into their personal lives and automating too many of their activities. As the ad says, “AI just got personal.” Lenovo’s new AI PCs are built with Microsoft Copilot functionality and include a special key on the keyboard for instant chatbot access. Their launch and the campaign come at a time of ongoing tension among companies promoting AI and a public that remains largely skeptical about how brands deploy their AI efforts. Giants such as Google have irked consumers by suggesting their AIs can automate personal tasks, while startups continue to cause controversy by promoting AI-powered devices that are sometimes confusing, and at worst, dystopian. Less than half of consumers want brands to use AI to create ads, according to a recent Ad Age-Harris Poll survey. Members of the creative community have launched their own anti-AI movement, exerting pressure on companies that are integrating AI into their products. More news: AI prompting for marketers—agency leaders’ lessons The Lenovo campaign, created with VML Atlanta, advertises the PCs as technological extensions of “you” (the user). That is, the laptops can learn users’ productivity habits and automate tasks they would otherwise have to do themselves. The hero 60-second commercial spotlights this messaging by showing various professionals sporting their personalized PCs, which are named after them (e.g. “The Andre,” “The Jasmine”). “That’s what the ‘You’ campaign is all about, catering to the different needs [of] the B2B [business-to-business] and B2C [business-to-consumer] user, making AI more tangible and applicable to the individual,” said Emily Ketchen, Lenovo’s chief marketing officer and VP of its intelligent devices group and international markets, over email. The ad’s style resembles the highlight-reel approach used by other tech companies marketing their own AI products. A recent campaign about AI from Perplexity took a different approach—its ad, which debuted to a mass audience earlier this month, did not once mention AI. Lenovo’s ad, on the other hand, mentions the technology by name numerous times. It’s unclear what effect this will have on audiences, but Ketchen is aware that positive consumer sentiment is not guaranteed. “How marketers adapt to and use AI responsibly, while retaining the trust of their customers, has become pivotal in the AI conversation,” Ketchen said. The “You” campaign is airing on streaming services, online video and tech and business media sites, with additional placements on social, out-of-home destinations and podcasts. AI was not used in the making of the campaign.

Lenovo’s new ad features AI as a personalization tool to win over a largely skeptical public

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