CLAUDE | A Time and a Place | 2026
On the Super Bowl Stage, They Ran an Ad Saying "Don't Run Ads" / CLAUDE "A Time and a Place"
Claude bought up the Super Bowl, advertising's biggest piece of prime real estate, to argue that "ads shouldn't be everywhere." That's contradictory. But that contradiction was exactly the point.
The problem
The timing came right after rival OpenAI announced it would bring ads to the free version of ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Claude was far behind ChatGPT in brand awareness—this was its first-ever Super Bowl ad.
The insight
Many people worry that today's helpful assistant could one day turn into just a billboard for advertisers. Anthropic decided to tackle that anxiety head-on. Instead of promoting Claude's features, they used the biggest stage in advertising—the Super Bowl—to make the point that "there are places ads shouldn't be." That twist is what makes it work. Behind it was also a gap: before the broadcast aired, ChatGPT's brand awareness stood at 95%, while Claude's was only 17%.
The idea
Made by Mother, directed by Jeff Low. Across several dark, comedic films, familiar moments of seeking advice get interrupted by a sponsored chatbot's reply. A man asking how to talk to his mom gets pointed toward a dating site; a man wanting six-pack abs gets recommended height-boosting insoles instead. The spots play out over well-known hip-hop beats, closing with a line to the effect of "Ads are coming for AI. Just not Claude."
What happened
Sam Altman pushed back on social media, saying "OpenAI would never run ads like this" and calling it "dishonest." At Cannes Lions, the campaign picked up multiple awards, including the Grand Prix in the Film category.
Afterthought
I love the nerve it takes to use your own ad to declare "ads shouldn't be everywhere." And getting a rival company's CEO to seriously fire back? That's nothing short of a huge win as an ad. The moment the target got riled up, this campaign had already won.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2026
