Anthropic's Super Bowl Ad Takes a Dig at ChatGPT

Sam Altman called it “clearly dishonest.” Then admitted he laughed.

Their campaign - 4 spots titled “Betrayal,” “Deception,” “Treachery,” and “Violation” - shows an AI assistant hijacking everyday conversations with irrelevant product pitches. You ask about six-pack abs, and the AI sells you insoles.

The tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

Ironically, this is proof that the problem is not ads. Ads can be brilliant. The problem is ads in the wrong context.

Nobody hates a great Super Bowl commercial. We look forward to them. Because great ads are entertainment. They respect the moment.

An ad interrupting your personal AI conversation? That is not entertainment. That is the digital equivalent of a stranger cutting into your therapy session to sell you vitamins.

It’s great that Sam’s promised not to put ads into the conversation.

Since you are here, these are 11 ads that are so good, people actively seek them out:

1. Volvo Trucks - “The Epic Split” (2013)

Van Damme doing a full split between two reversing trucks at sunrise. Enya playing. One take. A Spanish airstrip. Cost $4M to make. Generated $170M in revenue.

Why: It sold precision engineering through pure spectacle. No specs, no features list. Just a stunt so impossible you had to learn why Volvo’s steering made it possible.

https://lnkd.in/gCyhRdjY

2. Apple - “1984” (1984)

Ridley Scott directed this for the Macintosh launch. 96 million viewers. TV Guide called it the greatest commercial ever made. It aired once.

Why: It never showed the product. It sold a worldview. Apple was freedom, IBM was conformity. It invented the idea that a Super Bowl ad could be a cultural event. It revolutionized advertising by using cinematic storytelling, bold symbolism, and emotional appeal to position the computer as a tool for rebellion, creativity, and individuality against conformist technology.

https://lnkd.in/ghj9i5Ra

3. Dollar Shave Club - “Our Blades Are F***ing Great” (2012)

CEO Michael Dubin walks through a warehouse delivering a deadpan, hilarious pitch. Cost $4,500 to make. Shot in one day. Crashed their website on launch. 12,000 subscribers in 24 hours. 27M+ YouTube views.

Why: A startup with no budget out-marketed billion-dollar razor brands by being funny, direct, and authentic. It proved you do not need a Super Bowl slot to go viral. Unilever bought the company for $1 billion four years later.

https://lnkd.in/gdQcVJZZ

(8 more in the comments, as I hit the character limit.)

Every single one of these ads respected the audience. They entertained first, sold second.

My top favorite is the Volvo Trucks ad. What is your all-time favorite?

#SuperBowl #Marketing #AI #Advertising #Anthropic