ChatGPT Is Now an Ad Platform.
OpenAI’s ad pilot hit $100 million in annual revenue in two months. The platform opened to advertisers this month. 600 brands have already bought in with a $50 CPM floor. Ads show up at the bottom of ChatGPT answers on the free and Go tiers. The ads are labeled, separated, and theoretically not influencing responses. More.
The real story: The company that promised to save humanity from AI risk is now running a mid-funnel ad business. The “ads don’t influence answers” disclaimer is doing a lot of heavy lifting. I give it a year before ads become the main profit driver on their P&L.
Google Has an Ultimatum for Advertisers.
AI Max for Search campaigns is now available to everyone. It’s basically where Google’s AI generates your ad copy, your landing page, and your keyword list. Google says it performs 14% better on average conversion lift. But, if you’re still running exact and phase match only, your ads will not show up in AI mode or AI Overview placements (at all). More.
The real story: Google isn’t offering a new AI feature, this is an ultimatum. Opt into AI search or become invisible.
Dyson’s Best Product Launch Was a Joke.
Dyson’s April Fools’ campaign, the “Beauty Pet Range,” featuring an Airwrap for cats, an Airstrait for horse manes, and a Supersonic built for poodle volume, got a lot of attention in early April. The joke landed because Dyson’s real product line is already specific enough that pet grooming tools felt like an actual next step. More
The real story: The best April Fools’ campaigns aren’t pranks anymore. They’re market research content. Dyson now knows exactly how much demand exists for premium pet grooming, and they didn’t spend a dime on a focus group.
If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.
Every Wednesday, Open Woods tracks the cultural moments worth paying attention to. Curated weekly for brands that want to move first.
Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.
Every Sunday, Above the Fold breaks down what’s running in advertising, what’s landing, and what’s a total disaster.
Please accept my sincerest apologies! :)
Everything I learn about OpenAI is against my will.