Toys R Us unveils ad made with Sora AI video tool, prompting criticism

The news: Toys R Us debuted an ad at Cannes that was made almost entirely with OpenAI’s text-to-video tool Sora. The 66-second spot depicts the company’s founder as a child experiencing a dream that inspired the brand’s giraffe mascot.

• Toys R Us CMO Kim Miller Olko told CNN that the ad was created primarily using text prompts, though it also included post-production editing and featured an original score.

Critical reception: The spot drew harsh criticism. Ad creatives ripped into Toys R Us on social media, assailing the ad’s quality and the brand’s refusal to hire creatives to make it. Toys R Us has stuck with the spot so far and said it is exploring advertising opportunities and could release a holiday-themed version.

• Quality is subjective—but the ad is undeniably unsettling. The child’s appearance changes significantly between shots, and there is an uncanny, glossy veneer that is often characteristic of AI-generated media.
• But while a discerning eye might notice the spot’s strange qualities, it is, at times, disconcertingly convincing. Other brands and CMOs looking to save on production costs might take a cue from Toys R Us and experiment with creating spots using Sora.

AI in advertising: The Toys R Us spot continues a recent trend of brands facing backlash for featuring AI in ads. But it’s also one of the first high-profile uses of Sora in marketing and is likely to inspire wider use of the technology.

• OpenAI unveiled Sora earlier this year and immediately made waves in the media industry. The presentation’s quality shook filmmaker Tyler Perry into canceling a planned $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio. Since then, content made with Sora has proliferated and even been featured at film festivals.
• Several brands, including Lego and Under Armour, have been criticized for releasing AI-generated marketing materials in recent months. Though generative AI may be unpopular with ad creatives and consumers, its ever-increasing fidelity and cost-saving potential means brands may eventually opt not to disclose its use at all.
• However, the copyright issues found with other generative AI products are just as present with Sora, which could hamper its adoption.

Our take: Companies that release AI-generated ad campaigns can boast of being ahead of the technological curve, but they tend to face negative feedback from both consumers and creatives. As AI-generated media’s fidelity increases, brands may choose not to reveal their usage of the relatively unpopular tech.

• Despite the backlash, the Toys R Us spot could turn heads among CMOs looking to cut costs and experiment with AI.