Toys ‘R’ Us has just released an AI commercial and it’s giving these people nightmares
Whether you like it or not, we are living in the age of AI. (That’s artificial intelligence in case you’ve been lucky enough to miss the discourse of the last few years.)
AI tools have many practical uses when it comes to processing data, however when it comes to creativity, things get more complicated. Teachers are already despairing over essays that have clearly been churned out by the virtual assistant ChatGPT, and when it comes to art, the opinions get even more heated.
That’s because AI scrapes the work of existing human artists to create its content. Some argue that this works in a similar way to how people process artistic inspiration, while others claim that it’s theft. Either way, the backlash is often monumental, with films like Late Night with the Devil coming under fire for using AI-generated imagery.
However Toys ‘R’ Us has taken things one step further by releasing an advert made with OpenAI’s new video generation tool, Sora. And the result makes for typically uncanny viewing.
Toys “R” Us has released the first OpenAI SORA generated brand commercial
The use of generative AI in commercial work is here. pic.twitter.com/rfbHC3NQRD
— Allen T. (@Mr_AllenT) June 25, 2024
As you can see, the technology just isn’t quite there. The whole advert has a bizarre slickness and stiltedness which makes it feel inhuman and unnatural. Hardly what you want in a charming toy advert.
The dead giveaways are the awkward head movements of the characters, the blurry background details, and the calling card of dodgy AI art: incorrect hands.
Sora is not open to the public yet, however this hasn’t stopped people tinkering with similar tools such as Luma Labs Dream Machine. Ever wanted to see your favourite memes turned into short videos for some reason? You’re in luck, because now you can.
Dream Machine from Luma AI is just 5 days old.
And it’s already turning memes into videos.
10 epic examples:
1. Elon Musk smoking pic.twitter.com/H2cx2l3D7o
— Madni Aghadi (@hey_madni) June 17, 2024
Fascinating. Just what the planet needs right now. Depending on your opinion of AI, you can interpret that as sarcastically as you like.
Podcaster Joe Russo summed up the feelings of many X users though by saying the Toys ‘R’ Us advert “fucking sucks.” And the replies he got pointed out why so many people are unhappy with the way AI is going.
TOYS ‘R US released an AI commercial and it fucking sucks. pic.twitter.com/K1JcGhHKeA
— Joe Russo (@joerussotweets) June 25, 2024
gross
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) June 25, 2024
This has the aesthetic of a Tim and Eric sketch, but unironically. https://t.co/b0H1D3hYkZ
— Giovanni Colantonio (@MarioPrime) June 26, 2024
“May all of your dreams come true too”
Corporate America says with an ad using a technology that is currently killing people’s dreams and exploiting their labor https://t.co/aQUaiYwsB9
— Eric Bourdages (@EZE3D) June 26, 2024
This is like someone digging up the corpse of a person you loved, proceeding to take a massive dump on them and making you watch. https://t.co/r0cR4XBGx4
— Andrew Joustra (@AJoustra) June 25, 2024
I’m super happy it looks like complete garbage.. not one ounce of creativity or shot composition becsuse those things come with experienced professionals. This is a total warning for companies believing this is a viable alternative. It’ll look like a soulless lump of crap
— Michael Aguiar (@MatchesMallone) June 26, 2024
It’s not merely that the AI-generated footage looks wack. The commercial itself is poorly planned, with sluggish, insipid visuals and vocal delivery. It’s supposed to be a celebration of a toy store and it feels like something to put babies to sleep and give them nightmares.
— Ned Thorne (@NedThorne) June 25, 2024
What better way to celebrate the magic of childhood and imagination, than a semi-petrified giraffe that pulls a young boy into a portal of plodding mediocrity.
— Tieff (@tosh_fieldsend) June 25, 2024
This makes me sick.
I mean that kind of literally, because it hits me with that uncanny valley grossness. Stay away from me, you soulless kid beast! https://t.co/JMTiibQ0Mm
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) June 25, 2024
Playing with toys is one of the first ways humans engage with creativity and imagination.
Using AI to create a shitty commercial for toys is an insult. https://t.co/oVS16Ldz2B
— Darth Maul-tism, MLIS ⬛ (@RogueArtemis) June 26, 2024
This is the opposite of joyful. https://t.co/hUNAKktK04
— Gail Simone (@GailSimone) June 25, 2024
Elsewhere people were chipping with their thoughts on not just the commercial, but the AI-ification of the media in general.
jfc this is an abomination from @ToysRUs. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they’re using an AI tool trained on the plagiarised work of thousands of artists and unlicensed IP, they’re clearly too cheap to use real creators and child actors. Makes a strong statement in itself about… pic.twitter.com/O3NfaUcLzn
— Theo (@tprstly) June 25, 2024
Mock that Toys ‘R’ Us AI spot all you want — but it’s just the beginning. Most consumers won’t know the difference or care, and most marketers will be more than happy to make this kind of spot for less money. I don’t know what the answer is, either.https://t.co/yjZa7HuLq6
— Dan Goldgeier (@DanGoldgeier) June 26, 2024
Love this commercial is like, “Toys R Us started with the dream of a little boy who wanted to share his imagination with the world. And to show how, we fired our artists and dried Lake Superior using a server farm to generate what that would look like in Stephen King’s nightmares https://t.co/RBPoH0ax5o
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) June 26, 2024
dude fuck this i hope toys r us goes backrupt again https://t.co/ruvsuL3eBX
— tea (@horrifichymns) June 25, 2024
Toys R Us isn’t even really a company anymore because private equity destroyed it. Commercial made by no one to advertise a company that doesn’t exist featuring childhood experiences that will never happen again. https://t.co/d86zcBEZAj
— Brenden Gallagher (@brendengallager) June 25, 2024
press release for that weird Toys R Us commercial says it was “executive produced” by their chief of global marketing and “directed” by a guy who runs an AI company.
this is AI in a nutshell. uncreative people giving themselves creative titles without actually making anything.
— ally (@missmayn) June 25, 2024
Source @Mr_AllenT