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Thanks to OZ’s Tim Bradley for sending along news of the Toys “R” Us brand video from Cannes last week, a first in that it was created using Sora, Open AI’s text-to-video tool.  (Note that the creative agency was using a version of Sora not yet available to us mortals.)

The criticisms of it are predictable and not without some validity.  It looks a little uncanny and the brand is getting by without paying actors; however, you could say the same about an animated ad.

The global chief creative officer at BBDO said, “The world is full of ads like this, and I think they’re not very good. This ad would never be discussed by anyone were it not for the AI.”   The first point is debatable.  The second is certainly true.  However, there has always been a lot of “not very good” advertising in the world so this doesn’t seem like a strong argument against using AI.

Creatives online have criticized minutiae, like the fact that the kid’s hands are weird and that he looks a little different in different shots, but no consumer is going to notice that. I question whether the average consumer would know this was made with AI – and I really question whether they would care.

The ad took a lot of work.  Sora got it close to the finish line, but it took a sizable team to add the finishing touches that made it look credible.

There are risks – not only has Toys “R” Us received criticism for this, but Lego and Under Armour also have been under fire for using AI-generated images in communication. Will that continue to be a problem for consumers or will some people grumble for a while and then eventually get used to it?

Leaving aside the ethical debate, I’m not sure I like the ad, exactly, although I don’t hate it.  The soulless Black Mirror-esque voiceover bugs me, especially for a warm, fuzzy brand like Toys “R” Us.  Plus, the cutaway to the Polaroid of Charles Lazarus near the end seems forced and totally breaks the visual flow of the story, although that seems like more of a creative decision than an AI issue.  There is a lot worse stuff out there, though.

What do you think?