ChatGPT’s new billboard ads are giving me tonal whiplash

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They're missing one vital ingredient.

ChatGPT billboard ad
(Image credit: @typedfemale via X)

Whether we like it or not, AI is permeating our everyday lives to the point where "ask ChatGPT" has become the new "Google it". What was once seen as a tool for the tech-savvy has become the everyman's helper equipped for every situation – or at least that's what ChatGPT wants you to believe.

In a bizarre new campaign, ChatGPT has bewildered passersby with a series of strange billboard ads spotlighting the mundanity of everyday life. Minimalist by design, the ads have sparked confusion for their ambiguous (and sometimes nonsensical) storytelling, proving that narrative is an invaluable branding tool.

Emulating a stripped-back, slice-of-life campaign, ChatGPT's new ads feature an array of people-focused scenes. From a rural setting featuring farmers fixing a tractor to a heartbroken woman surrounded by takeaway boxes, the ads suggest one common theme among these 'random' vignettes. They all need the help of ChatGPT.

"Not sure I understand the vision behind this one," one X user wrote in reference to the sobbing woman. "Can someone tell me what this billboard is supposed to convey to me about ChatGPT?" another wrote.

On the surface, the ads are supposed to show the rawness of humanity, but the tonal whiplash and ambiguity within the campaign leave it feeling nonsensical and empty. Simply put, instructions on how to fix a tractor are not the same as how to fix a broken heart, and using ChatGPT to remedy every life experience loses the nuance of human emotion. In trying to capture the human experience, these ChatGPT ads only demonstrate how empty the technology is without the warmth of humanity.

For more ad coverage, check out these provocative AI billboards that were designed to be hated or take a look at this optical illusion billboard, which is genius (and gross).

Natalie Fear
Natalie Fear
Staff Writer

Natalie Fear is Creative Bloq's staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. Natalie also runs Creative Bloq’s Day in the Life series, spotlighting diverse talent across the creative industries. Outside of work, she loves all things literature and music (although she’s partial to a spot of TikTok brain rot). 

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