AI Advertising at the Super Bowl

This Week

• Long Read: Super Bowl Spending Spree

• Around the Web: Staying Ahead in the AI Era, GenAI Predictions

• Career: Level Up Your AI Game

• Tool of the Week: AdCreative.AI

Super Bowl Spending Spree and AI Advertising

Brands that advertised at the 2024 Super Bowl spent an estimated $650M securing ad spots for the big game. The average cost of airing a 30-second ad spot at the Super Bowl was $7M, an all-time high. CBS sold out of ad inventory by November 2023, and Prosper Insights & Analytics estimated that Super Bowl consumer spending will surpass $17B in 2024, setting new records all around. 

But what about AI?

“Despite heightened interest and anticipation for AI in marketing and advertising, there’s a notable scarcity of actual AI-led ads this year,” said Graham Page, global managing director of media analytics, Affectiva on Adweek. “Many advertisers, although heavily experimenting with AI, may not currently view the Super Bowl as the ideal testing ground due to potential unexpected errors.”

According to CB Insights, the TV commercial is the most far-reaching and the most ripe for disruption. Technologies like generative AI will change how TV ads are made and delivered, translating to time and cost savings for advertisers. The research firm says generative AI applications for visual media have already seen positive momentum among investors, with 58 deals totaling $822M since 2021.  

Generative AI could help by brainstorming the next winning storyline or creating hyperreal deepfakes of celebrities, and automatic content recognition (ACR) tech could turn TV ads into multi-media shopping experiences.

As for the ads themselves? There were a few standouts featuring AI.

Etsy showcased its new AI feature fueled by OpenAI’s GPT4—Gift Mode—paired with human curation to help shoppers select the perfect gift.

Microsoft’s ad focused on the idea of using Copilot as a creative tool to push boundaries that empower people.

And Google’s heart-warming ad revealed how its AI-powered Pixel 8 helps blind people take photos.  

Strategies For Leading in The AI Era

The pace of innovation in marketing, particularly with AI, is exhilarating but can feel overwhelming. New platforms emerge daily, algorithms shift, and tools like Bard (now Gemini) & ChatGPT change daily.

How do you keep up?

Watch my video for three strategies to getting ahead, or read on…

Strategies for Staying Ahead:

Follow the Experts: Read industry news, engage with leading voices, and stay abreast of emerging technologies.

Embrace Experimentation: Don't shy away from exploring new AI tools. Dedicate time each week to test, evaluate, and integrate the most promising solutions into your workflow.

Continuous Learning: Never stop expanding your knowledge and skills. Seek continuous learning opportunities to ensure you're armed with the latest best practices.

Adaptability isn't just about keeping up; it's about seizing opportunities and staying ahead of the curve. 

Watch the video.

3 GenAI Predictions, And What it Means for Marketers

Human Connections Dwindle

2024 will see an explosion of AI friendships ​amid a loneliness epidemic. Expect romantic AI to accelerate the decline in adult partnerships​, and for AI girlfriend startups to become increasingly popular.

What it means for marketers: How can you develop a brand that feels human? How can you more closely connect with your customers and prospects? As the loneliness pandemic rises, people will gravitate to brands that offer more than a transaction. 

New LLM Challengers 

Open-source LLM developers are seeing rising investor and commercial interest​, mounting a challenge to closed LLMs. In 2024, anticipate a record number of AI projects to be built on open-source models.

What it means for marketers: What does this mean for your martech stack? Are you staying current on the latest tools? Open-source models will accelerate the availability of AI-powered marketing platforms and your need for more structured evaluation. 

AI vs. AI

A new crop of genAI-focused cybersecurity vendors will emerge ​as deepfakes continue to become more sophisticated. Companies that are able to cover these AI threats will become a major selling point for customers.

What it means for marketers: Is your brand safe from deepfakes? Are you using your company data responsibly? You need to protect your brand and keep your data safe. 

Download the report here.

Level Up Your AI Marketing Game

Feeling stuck in repetitive tasks and uninspired campaigns? AI Marketing Institute will help you unleash the power of AI.

They have a free live class, Intro to AI for Marketers, that will cover:

• Understanding the technology behind AI and its potential for marketing.

• Identifying AI use cases that fit your needs.

• Learning how to track and prove the ROI of AI tools.

The next session is March 13th, 12pm ET / 9am PT.

Register here. 

Tool of The Week

AdCreative.ai: Your AI-powered ad creation powerhouse

What it is: AdCreative.ai uses AI to generate unique ad variations of your ads in minutes — all tailored to your brand, audience, and goals.

Best feature: Each ad comes with a pre-scored prediction of its conversion rate, so you can focus on the winners.

Cost: Plans start at $49/month.

G2 Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Website: https://www.adcreative.ai/