AI video-generated commercials from major brands have quickly become almost mainstream—Coca-Cola and Vodafone each recently released campaigns made using the technology. Meanwhile, there has been a flood of new large language models, which underpin the text-, image- and video-generating AI: Google recently released an update to Veo, its video-generating app, and OpenAI released video tool Sora this month. Plus, there are startup models, such as one from Kling, which studio Secret Level used when it helped Coca-Cola create one of three AI-generated commercials for the holidays.

All the AI activity has meant that the world of creativity is already being upended by the machines, though not without some resistance. There are creatives on both sides of the debate to empower AI or banish it from artistic advertising. No matter where one stands, there’s no denying that AI is now part of the landscape.

Below, Ad Age presents the latest top 5 AI marketing activations, a regular series on AI developments in ad land.

5. EToro’s ‘Watch the Market Moves’

This surreal spot from stock and crypto trading app eToro is clearly not as polished as some other AI ads out there—some of the people in the crowd shots have that melted-face look common in faulty AI imagery. Still, the video has 1.7 million views on YouTube, and the ad has appeared on connected TV. The “Watch The Market Moves” commercial led to YouTube comments such as “AI generated slop.” But other commenters seemed to enjoy the improbable Wall Street dance-off between a twerking bear and breakin’ bull.

4. Vodafone’s ‘Rhythm of Life’

This month, Vodafone created its first commercial using AI. There was “not a single real pixel,” Amr El Badry, the British telecom brand’s global senior brand identity and communications manager, told Ad Age. That doesn’t mean there weren’t artists involved, including famed filmmaker Sebastian Strasser. New Commercial Arts, Design Bridge and Partners, both in the U.K., and Sleeper out of New Zealand were involved in the campaign. The ad, titled “Rhythm of Life,” had added complexity because of how many photorealistic people it depicted, whereas AI video has so far been best at cartoonish creations and hyper-realism.

3. ‘Who Says Cars Can’t Dream?’

Production company Tool North America, which has become known for experimental AI commercials, created a spec Land Rover ad using a hybrid approach of video-generation models and live action, Ad Age Creativity Editor Tim Nudd reported.

Earlier this year, Tool was one of the first to use video AI for a major brand, Under Armour, and the effort helped ignite the ongoing rift in the creative community over the use of AI. “Who Says Cars Can’t Dream?” found the sweet spot, combining humans and machines, using live action for the people featured and using AI for the captivating visual effects, Nudd reported.

2. Coca-Cola’s ‘Holidays Are Coming’

Last month, the first of three AI-generated commercials from Coca-Cola debuted at Ad Age’s Emerging Tech Summit. Jason Zada, the founder of Secret Level, the studio behind one of the spots, explained how new video AI models are coming online all of the time.

• How creatives and consumers reacted to Coca-Cola’s AI ads
   
• Coca-Cola’s AI head discusses the commercials

Secret Level especially experimented with Kling for the parts that depicted people (all based on real actors), Zada told Ad Age. Secret Level, Silverside and The Wild Card each used AI to create remakes of Coca-Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” commercial from 1995. The ad from Silverside has run extensively on TV. (Below, the commercials from Secret Level, Silverside and The Wild Card, in that order.)

1. Secret Level’s ‘A Very AI Yule Log’

As this is the final top 5 AI marketing report from Ad Age for the year, and it’s almost Christmas, this is the perfect video to send everyone off.

Secret Level created a 90-minute Yule log-inspired video that could stand in for the traditional TV fires commonly played during the holidays. “A Very AI Yule Log” is a chaotic display of AI, reminiscent of a trippy mid-2010s Adult Swim infomercial break. The long-form video features a streaming cast of weird holiday-themed characters and scenery. Even the Christmas music was AI-generated.

More from Ad Age: The best holiday ads of 2024