We don’t like AI ads.
Actually, we don’t like AI ads that feature uncanny valley AI people.
Lately, AdTechRadar has been getting a lot of these ads on LinkedIn. One company that keeps showing up in our feed is AdClarity, an ad intelligence platform owned by BIScience.
Take a look at one of the ads we were served (link):
And using LinkedIn’s Ad Library, you can see some other, pretty rough examples here and here.
AdClarity, to me, seems interesting, sure. But, the ads, not so much.
Why This Matters:
People aren’t particularly enthusiastic about AI-generated people in advertising.
A Bentley University-Gallup survey from last month found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of Americans say it’s unacceptable for businesses to use AI-generated people or voices in ads. That doesn’t mean brands should avoid AI creative altogether, of course. But there’s a difference between using AI to augment an ad and using it to create awkward synthetic people who don’t look or sound quite right. The latter can be distracting or off-putting.
Moreover, hey, where are the disclosures in these ads? New York has passed a law requiring disclosures for certain ads featuring AI-generated “synthetic performers.” We’re in New York City and don’t see any disclosures here. Does the law not apply to these ads? Does it make a difference at all? Given the volume of AI-generated people in ads across platforms, we’re skeptical.
Experts React:
Here’s what Gallup concluded from its study:
“Consumers appear willing to accept AI as a creative tool, but they are less comfortable when it replaces people’s images and voices. As businesses expand their use of AI in advertising, the findings suggest that how they use the technology may influence consumers’ opinions about the companies.”
Yeah, seems about right.
Our Take:
To be fair, BIScience may be testing different approaches, and these ads might be performing well. (Are we being too generous?) But the creative still raises questions about how brands should use synthetic people in their campaigns, particularly as audience skepticism and regulatory scrutiny grow in tandem.
Also, for a company whose business is helping advertisers better understand advertising, leaning heavily into this type of creative feels odd.
