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OpenAI has unveiled its first large-scale, sustained brand campaign for ChatGPT, marking a strategic move beyond high-profile, one-off moments into continuous brand-building.
The campaign is running across the US, UK, and Ireland via a multi-channel mix, including primetime television, streaming, prominent out-of-home (OOH) displays, and social platforms. Critically, the creative strategy leans into everyday, slice-of-life moments, such as mastering a new recipe, planning a road trip, or kick-starting a fitness regime, to showcase how the tool seamlessly integrates into ordinary life, rather than remaining an abstract innovation.
The work is deliberately positioned as “human-crafted,” with the final creative developed by human teams using cinematic techniques (like 35mm film), even as AI played a supporting role in behind-the-scenes processes like ideation and tooling. This human-centric approach is underpinned by statements from executives, such as Elke Karskens, OpenAI’s International Marketing Director, who noted that, “AI use is deeply personal, and the most powerful stories come directly from how people experience ChatGPT.”
BTB So What?
An interesting launch from OpenAI and a fundamental signal that appears to be a strategic graduation from technology firm into a mainstream consumer brand that is actively seeking to define AI’s place in culture and commerce. This campaign leans less towards being an advertisement and functions more as a sophisticated normalisation strategy. By rejecting the usual futuristic tropes and instead showing AI assisting with deeply relatable, human moments (new recipes or training for a run) OpenAI seems to be attempting to dismantle public anxiety. The unspoken message appears to be that AI is not here to replace you; it’s a quiet, accessible co-pilot that makes your personal goals achievable. This soft-focus, human-first approach is essential for securing the broad cultural acceptance and trust that the company needs for its next phase of exponential growth.
On the commercial front, the campaign positions the brand as a crucial foundation for a massive monetisation push. While the ads are showing people plan their dinner, OpenAI seems to be simultaneously building an internal ad-tech infrastructure and rolling out features that enable direct e-commerce transactions (termed “agentic commerce”) within the chat interface, partnering with major retailers. Will this campaign become the gentle face of a company aiming to become a primary, multi-billion dollar platform, one that appears set to challenge the established dominance of Google and Amazon by controlling the entire journey from product discovery to instant checkout? We’ll find out in time.