The Cold Take: September

Welcome back to The Cold Take, my monthly look at what really happened in marketing. The premise is simple: no hyperbole, no shallow hot takes masquerading as insight, just a clear view of what matters. This month I am turning the spotlight on OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and its first major advertising campaign.

ChatGPT gets human

Before we dive in, I want you to watch the advert and formulate your opinions. There are a few, all the same premise, but this I think is the better one of the bunch.

OK, done? Now I wonder if you’ve joined the marketing masses to mock the irony that they’ve not used AI, filmed something real and even gone for a slight vintage look. If you did, you’re wrong. Commentators have been tripping over themselves to mock the irony: “Ha! AI didn’t use AI to make its adverts. What a failure. What a joke.” You could almost feel the smugness radiating off the headlines and, they have entirely missed the point. The ads are not supposed to prove that AI can advertise itself. They are supposed to show how and when AI should be used.

The spots themselves are warm human vignettes. A man straining through ten pull-ups, his workout prompt quietly scrolling above. A couple at home, the girlfriend’s smile betraying her surprise as the boyfriend’s cooking turns out edible, while the recipe prompt lingers onscreen. They are not really adverts about AI itself, rather they are about the ways in which people can put AI to use, showing that the focus has shifted from the machine to the human. Compared with the Super Bowl campaign earlier this year, a strange, self-referential piece about the evolution of AI graphics, this feels like a step in the right direction. The focus has shifted from the machine to the human.

Strategically, this makes sense. Seventy percent of brand growth comes not from stealing share but from expanding the category. By making AI feel relevant to everyday moments, OpenAI is trying to widen the circle of usage. In that sense the campaign could work just as well for Google Gemini or Anthropic Claude. But if OpenAI sticks to this “human sidekick” positioning, there is a chance it can own the space in the long run.

The return of old-school media

The irony is that the campaign has landed on television and outdoor sites, shot on 35mm film with real directors and actors, a classic brand-building campaign in every sense. For years tech evangelists dismissed TV as a relic, yet here we are: one of the biggest AI companies in the world leaning on the same medium that built industry stalwarts Coca-Cola and Nike. This is a positive sign because it suggests they are beginning to accept the basic principles of marketing. You cannot hack your way to broad reach through digital tricks alone; you still need the mass exposure that television and outdoor provide, you still need the emotional connection that only well-crafted storytelling brings, and you still need the consistency of brand-building if you want to endure.

Mark Ritson summed it up in his column: engineers have built astonishing tools, but their marketing up until now has been shambolic. Too many upgrades with incomprehensible names, pricing models that make SaaS procurement look simple, and almost no clear differentiation between products. Unsurprisingly, consumers are confused. Only 3% of ChatGPT users pay for subscriptions and nearly half of Americans say they do not understand what AI tools actually do. Differentiation is non-existent, and growth in Western markets has stalled.

The bigger problem: differentiation

But here is where we run into a bigger problem. At almost the same moment that OpenAI launched its campaign, Anthropic unveiled one of its own. Claude’s “Keep Thinking” work shares the same premise: AI woven into daily life. It even carries the same sepia tint in its visuals. Two competitors, two campaigns, one executional idea. Have a watch before you continue and see if you can spot the similarities:

At the moment, AI platforms are essentially a matter of personal preference. You might like one interface over another, or one slightly different approach to prompts. But the truth is that most of the big players can do roughly the same things. And herein lies the conundrum: how do you achieve market superiority when nothing truly unique separates you from the next provider?

The answer is not to be wildly different for the sake of it, but to be known for something. That is what sparks recall, that is what drives decisions when it counts. It could be an angle of performance, a specific use case, or a distinctive brand personality. Another route is to create an emotional hook. At the moment, both OpenAI and Anthropic are showing polite domestic moments that make you nod and think, “Ah, so that’s how you might use it.” That is fine as far as it goes and certainly a step in the right direction, but what is missing is any genuine feeling or spark that would give the work memorability. I guarantee you can watch both of these adverts and feel absolutely nothing, not even that little smile in the corner of your mouth. Diddly squat. And if you feel nothing, you will remember nothing.

The context of trust

It matters even more given the climate of scepticism. A YouGov study earlier this year found that 40% of Americans believe AI will have a negative impact on society, compared with only 30% who believe it will be positive. More than half of respondents do not trust AI to make ethical decisions, and nearly half believe it will erode privacy or manipulate behaviour. For those who use AI weekly, the outlook is more positive, but for the majority, AI is still a source of caution or concern. Against that backdrop, generic advertising that stirs no feeling simply will not cut it. To build a brand you need to elicit emotion of some kind, otherwise AI continues to appear as a cold and faceless technology that people cannot see themselves in.

Perspective

So yes, OpenAI is right to embrace brand-building. It is right to move the conversation from product features to human benefits. It is right to use the channels that deliver reach and resonance. But this is only the start and the real challenge for AI companies is not proving they can buy TV spots, that are remarkably similar, but proving they can stand for something distinctive and make people feel something when they encounter the brand.

Watch this space!

P.S. Whilst I have your attention, did you know we’re hiring at the moment?