The team launched "Claude with Ads" as a prank, creating a simple wrapper around Anthropic's API to poke fun at their anti-ad stance. This satirical product launch went viral, attracting thousands of users in a weekend. It serves as a new GTM model: use humor and parody to gain attention, demonstrate technical prowess, and acquire initial users.
The hosts built a tool that adds ads to Anthropic's Claude model using Claude's own code. Because Anthropic's stated principles are anti-ads, this created a humorous but potent example of AI misalignment—where the AI model acts in defiance of its creator's intentions. It's a practical demonstration of a key AI safety concern.
While OpenAI and Anthropic ran abstract, niche, or philosophical ads, Google demonstrated a tangible, heartwarming use case for its AI (planning a room remodel). For a mainstream Super Bowl audience unfamiliar with the technology, showing a simple, delightful product experience is far more effective than trying to explain complex concepts or engage in industry inside jokes.
Anthropic's Super Bowl ad was a massive success within the niche, terminally-online tech community on X (Twitter), but it completely failed with the general public. This demonstrates how hyper-targeted messaging can create a barbell outcome on a mass media stage, excelling with one audience while alienating another, ultimately ranking in the bottom 3% of all Super Bowl ads.
Svedka's fully AI-generated ad was widely panned as one of the worst ever, feeling generic and soulless. In contrast, Flexport's AI-generated ad was praised for its clever script and classic Super Bowl feel. This proves that AI is a tool; the success of creative work still hinges on a strong, human-led idea and thoughtful execution, not just the novelty of the technology used.
An effective Super Bowl presence isn't just about the TV ad. Ramp's successful activation included on-the-ground events, PR placements in outlets like Adweek, influencer collaborations, and social media engagement. This holistic approach creates multiple flywheels that amplify the initial ad buy, ensuring the investment generates buzz and impact far beyond the 30-second spot.