Google has launched its first ad produced entirely with artificial intelligence. The protagonist is a stuffed turkey who tries to escape from Thanksgiving, in a short story with a children’s aesthetic. But, beyond the cuteness of the character, the spot marks a turning point for the company because it is the first campaign it has carried out entirely with its generative video model I See 3.

The ad is part of the “Just Ask Google” campaign, developed internally by the Google Creative Lab team, and will be broadcast on television, movie theaters and digital platforms. The objective is not only to show the technical capabilities of the tool, but to do so in a friendly, empathetic way and without generating rejection in a context where the public still perceives content generated by AI with suspicion.

To achieve this, the creative team has opted for a non-human and deliberately endearing character. “Many in marketing are drunk on AI. They use it just so they can say they have used it”comments Robert Wong, Co-Founder and Vice President of the Google Creative Lab, in statements to the Wall Street Journal. “But the public doesn’t care if the ad was made with AI or not”he added.

The choice of a stuffed animal instead of hyper-realistic characters responds to the fear of falling into the so-called “uncanny valley”, that psychological effect that causes discomfort when something almost human seems strange. With an aesthetic inspired by television Christmas specials from past decades, the advertisement seeks to generate nostalgia and trust, activating affective memories that soften the perception of technology.

For Marvin Chow, Vice President of Marketing at Google AI and DeepMind, the goal is to show that AI can be more “human” than you think, and even fun. The campaign thus acts as a controlled trial to measure the level of acceptance of this type of machine-generated content, at a time when Google faces pressure to lead the artificial intelligence race.
“There were always bad ads before AI, and there will still be bad ads after. Only those who create them can avoid it”adds Robert Wong.

The piece also anticipates a second Christmas-themed installment, which will arrive in the coming weeks and will be part of the same emotional narrative.