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The bold technological adventurism, which characterized a handful of ads from Super Bowl LVII, seems to have been replaced with a wait-and-see sense of caution.
Super Bowl LVII will take place this Sunday, February 12. / Adobe Stock
On Friday, Avocados From Mexico revealed that it would no longer be integrating ChatGPT – the viral AI model from OpenAI, which generates text from text-based prompts – into its upcoming campaign for Super Bowl LVII. The about-face from the brand reflects a broader trend as brands adopt a cautious posture towards emergent tech, a sharp departure from the buoyant enthusiasm that surrounded cryptocurrency and the metaverse during last year’s Super Bowl.
Avocados From Mexico originally planned to include a QR code in its upcoming Super Bowl spot, linking viewers to a webpage where they could generate tweets using ChatGPT. The company still plans to include a QR code, but it will be linked to a branded online experience called the “Goodness Hotel” – not to ChatGPT.
It isn’t clear at this point why Avocados From Mexico got cold feet about using ChatGPT in its Super Bowl LVII campaign.
To date, AI has raised numerous red flags about the lack of ability to defend against misuse – by someone who wanted to generate a racist diatribe, for example. Or in the case of the AI Seinfeld, which yesterday called trans an illness.
Then again the crypto collapse has given much pause. Last year’s shiny new toy was pervasive during Super Bowl LVI. Coinbase made waves with an ad featuring a wandering QR code. Matt Damon wore a tight-fitting t-shirt and tried to make crypto skeptics feel like cowards. Feels like a simpler time, doesn’t it?
Things are going to be a bit different this time around. Mainstream crypto, once so full of promise, is now working to rebuild its reputation in the wake of the “crypto winter” and the inglorious fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX.
Remember the metaverse?
What about the metaverse, that vague virtual universe that brands were so eagerly hyping up last year? During last year’s Super Bowl, Meta dropped an ad featuring a down-and-out and confusingly sentient animatronic dog who eventually connects with the good ol’ days of jamming with his fellow robots through an Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset. Can we expect another ad from Meta this year, or from any other companies trying to establish themselves as early movers in the metaverse?
At this point, it doesn’t seem likely. Though Meta’s latest earnings report seemed to signal a change in fortune, the tech giant’s stock plummeted last year when it was revealed that some investors were growing skeptical of brand CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy and that consumers were not flocking to Horizon Worlds (the company’s VR platform) in anything close to the numbers that had been hoped for. This year, the company has said its strategy is to double down on the metaverse.
So, what emerging tech is in the Big Game?
Still, it hasn’t entirely receded from view. Earlier this month, the National Football League (NFL) announced that rap superstar Saweetie would perform a virtual concert in Warner Music Group’s Rhythm City, a virtual experience in Roblox. Though Roblox isn’t a VR platform, it’s become roughly synonymous with the metaverse, as have other massive online multiplayer gaming platforms like Fortnite and The Sandbox.
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