Svedka Vodka Unveils The First AI-Generated Super Bowl Commercial
Svedka Vodka has released a Super Bowl commercial that was generated almost entirely by artificial intelligence, THR reports.
The ad, titled "Shake Your Bots Off", features the company's two famous robot characters as they dance in a club after making Svedka Martinis. The commercial is just thirty seconds long, and sees the characters perform a user-submitted dance as part of a contest.
This marks the first declared Super Bowl commercial that was generated through AI prompts instead of being conventionally shot.
Svedka Comments on Their Divisive New Commercial
"We always knew we were signing up for risk because a vodka ad in the Super Bowl is polarizing to a certain degree,” said Sara Saunders, Chief Marketing Officer at Sazerac. "We might as well create conversation."
The discussion around the use of generative AI in public media has been ongoing for several years now, with huge corporations such as Coca Cola and Nike employing the technology for their ads. These decisions have always been met with controversy given AI's environmental impact and unsolicited use of other public media to draw inspiration from.
However, Svedka denies accusations that their latest commercial diminishes the importance of the human experience. "The entire idea of the campaign is that the robots have returned to remind the humans to be more human,” Saunders said. “Our message is ultimately pro-human.”
Interestingly, Saunders also claims that using AI to generate the commercial didn't save the company much money. "For us its never been an efficiency play, it’s been a storytelling play; that’s why we’ve always had strong hands on the keyboard."
AI is stepping into the spotlight at this year's Super Bowl, with several other noteworthy commercials admitting the use of generative technology. A recent Xfininity ad digitally-deaged the original cast of Jurassic Park for an extended spot, while Guy Fieri also had his appearance changed by AI in a commercial.
This emphasis on AI commercials at the Super Bowl will undoubtedly spark an important conversation about the ethics of using this technology in place of human animators, writers, and filmmakers. Svedka, however, welcomes the criticism: "We think that [the question of humans vs. technology] is a dialogue we should be having no matter which side you’re on.”
