Did Google use generative AI to make its holiday ad?
A gen-AI turkey starred in an advertisement from Google. It aired around Thanksgiving, hence the turkey. What caught people’s attention was that Google created the ad with generative AI. For business owners, the commercial’s message is meta: if Google can use generative AI to create its own ads, so can your business.
The Five Most-Key Takeaways from This Blog Post
- Other examples of holiday-season ads featuring generative AI include “Big Night Out” and “Mr. Fuzzy’s Big Adventure”.
- Google’s Veo 3 was the video-generating tool that made the ad. Another meta element of the ad is that it serves as a subtextual endorsement and demonstration of Veo 3.
- The ad may not be technically considered “all AI” because it features screencaptures of queries being typed into Gemini, but it’s noteworthy that even those shots feature AI.
- What is not featured in this commercial is the process of its making. How many generations (gen-AI video creation’s version of “takes” in filmmaking) did it take to get the final product that we saw on our television screens?
- Google used Veo 3 to create the ads, but can other business owners use Veo 3 to create ads? Google is maddeningly unclear in its Generative AI Prohibited Use Policy on the question of commercial use of its gen-AI outputs. All the same, a Google Cloud blog post highlights how “Veo 3 is helping Google Cloud customers create external content—from social media ads to product demos”. (This blog does not constitute legal advice, by the way.)
Why does Google’s AI-made ad matter for business owners?
Using AI in advertisements has been a thing ever since ChatGPT kicked off the generative-AI boom that we are all living in.
Business owners everywhere have been taking advantage of the technology to catch consumers’ attention.
Coca-Cola is perhaps the most famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) case, with the company apparently now making a yearly tradition of releasing a new gen-AI “Holidays Are Coming” advertisement.
The Next Step for Generative AI in Advertising
But despite the years that people have had access to this technology, the very companies making it have shied away from using it in commercials.
Some of these companies’ ads even seem to be drawing on pre-gen-AI content creation: take note of a ChatGPT ad campaign that has a pre-digital vibe, with 1970s-looking cinematography and nostalgic soundtracks as well.
But Google’s ad changes things up, boldly making generative-AI outputs both the content and, in some ways, the subject of the ad, even if the ad is ostensibly about using Gemini to plan a holiday trip.
Gen-AI Ads: If It’s Good Enough for Google…
Part of what Google could be seen as doing with this ad is subtly (or not-so-subtly) communicate that even for a company with a market cap in the trillions, going the generative-AI route for ad creation can be preferable to the old-fashioned way.
That could obviously get the attention of business owners, who just might’ve caught these ads airing during their time off over the holiday season.
What does the finished ad not show about how it was made?
To build off of the fourth Key Takeaway above, the commercial of course is a finished product.
Something that we know from the Coca-Cola commercial is that a team of around 100 people worked on the “Holidays Are Coming” gen-AI ad. That, and it took the refining of more than 70,000 AI clips to get the finished product there.
It makes one wonder about just how much effort it took Google to get its finished product here.
Notice how all of the shots in the commercial are pretty short and the actions are all fairly simple.
No showy physical complexity to be seen here, unless you count Tom the turkey (is this theTurkey Tom?) flipping down some shades to kick off his vacation.
Plus, there is a voiceover rather than any pesky dialogue that would require good lip synching.
So, what could be an unintended message that business owners could gather from this commercial? Even when you are a multitrillion-dollar company with proprietary gen AI that is considered among the best in the world, the tech is not exactly at a place where it can bring to life your wildest imaginings.
Instead, keep your generations simple and straightforward, and you could have better luck.
The Last (But Not Least) Key Takeaway from This Blog Post
If you had seen this ad before, would you even have known this was AI without this blog or another source telling you that it was AI? One of the bolder moves by Google here: no “Generated by AI” watermark on the commercial.
Frequently asked questions about Google’s generative AI ads
Did Google use generative AI to make its holiday ad?
Yes. The ad, which starred a generative-AI turkey and aired around Thanksgiving, was created by Google with generative AI. For business owners the message is meta: if Google can use generative AI to create its own ads, so can your business.
Which tool did Google use to create the AI ad?
Google’s Veo 3, its video-generating tool, made the ad. That is another meta element of the commercial, because it doubles as a subtextual endorsement and demonstration of Veo 3.
Was the entire Google ad made with AI?
Not technically. The ad features screencaptures of queries being typed into Gemini, so it may not count as all AI, though it is noteworthy that even those shots feature AI.
Did Google label the commercial as AI-generated?
No. One of the bolder moves by Google was that there is no Generated by AI watermark on the commercial.
How much work goes into making a generative AI advertisement?
The commercial is a finished product and does not show the process of its making. What we know from the Coca-Cola Holidays Are Coming gen-AI ad is that a team of around 100 people worked on it, and it took the refining of more than 70,000 AI clips to get the finished product there.
What should a business learn from how the ad was shot?
The shots are all pretty short and the actions fairly simple, with a voiceover rather than dialogue that would require good lip synching. Even a multitrillion-dollar company with proprietary gen AI among the best in the world is not at a place where the tech can bring your wildest ideas to life, so keep your generations simple and straightforward.
Other Great GO AI Blog Posts
GO AI the blog offers a combination of information about, analysis of, and editorializing on AI technologies of interest to business owners, with especial focus on the impact this tech will have on commerce as a whole.
On a usual week, there are multiple GO AI blog posts going out. Here are some notable recent articles:
- For Businesses and Other Organizations, What Makes a Successful Chatbot?
- IBM Watson vs. ChatGPT vs. Gemini: How Will Each Affect Search Engines?
- Using AI to Find Resources for Business Owners
- How Would Restricting Open-Source AI Affect Business Owners?
- The EU’s AI Act Has Become Law: The Implications for Business Owners (Especially American)
In addition to our GO AI blog, we also have a blog that offers important updates in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), with blog posts like “Google Ends Its Plan to End Third-Party Cookies”.
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