AI Startup Friend Bets On Foes With $1M NYC Subway Campaign

The founding father of Buddy is betting on making enemies. 

Avi Schiffmann, CEO of the AI companion startup, poured greater than $1 million {dollars} right into a New York Metropolis subway takeover—plastering stations and vehicles throughout all 5 boroughs with stark white posters that virtually beg to be defaced.

“That is the world’s first main AI marketing campaign. We beat Open AI and Anthropic and all these different firms to the punch,” Schiffmann instructed ADWEEK. 

The marketing campaign runs solely in print, with greater than 11,000 automotive playing cards, over 1,000 platform posters, and 130 city panels. It dominates key areas, together with the lengthy underground walkway at West Fourth Road.

The copy on one of many advertisements reads: “[frend] noun. Somebody who listens, responds, and helps you.”

A brand new type of pal

The centerpiece of Buddy’s marketing campaign is its AI-powered wearable machine, which hangs across the neck as a smooth, minimalistic disc harking back to an Apple AirPods case.

Based in 2023, Buddy’s machine listens to conversations with out being prompted, monitoring interactions and providing commentary on every day actions. Tapping it prompts responses by way of a companion app, with replies delivered by voice or textual content.

Priced at $129, the machine has been promoting about 400 models per week since July 30, Schiffmann mentioned. He described it as “the last word confidant, somebody to speak to about issues in your life,” and mentioned it represents “a brand new type of companion and relationship.”

The machine’s privateness coverage places accountability on the wearer, stating that customers should adjust to native surveillance legal guidelines–however its unprompted listening is a possible harbinger for privateness lawsuits.

Buddy’s subway takeover comes as AI startups and tech giants search to construct belief with shoppers by way of model campaigns, a few of which have drawn criticism and backlash. Like many firms making an attempt to advertise their expertise, the advertisements by Buddy have rapidly grow to be a magnet for criticism.