Svedka Vodka posted a new AI-created ad that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 8, and people immediately started reacting negatively in the comments on social media.
Svedka Vodka premiered a robot-themed AI ad during the Super Bowl
Bringing back one of its characters named “Fembot,” Svedka Vodka released a controversial advertisement during Super Bowl LX that featured two robots dancing to “Super Freak” by Rick James.
The 30-second commercial had “Fembot” make a comeback over a decade later and join her new male counterpart named “Bro-bot” in finding Svedka Vodka in their bodies. The pair then dances as the human crowd gathers on the floor around them in a night club. Near the end, the male robot attempts to drink a red cocktail with the vodka but it pours through his mouth and down the gap near its throat.
The video stands out because, apart from the song, the ad was generated using AI. “Our ad will blend human creativity and dance moves with modern technology,” said Sara Saunders, Chief Marketing Officer at Sazerac, the owner of Svedka Vodka, in a statement. “We can’t wait for fans across the world to see it all come to life.”
The Svedka Vodka AI ad was universally panned by viewers
However, viewers were less than thrilled with the ad. Comments were mostly joking and critical, with many people pointing to the sloppiness and the awkward uncanny valley of the robots.
A lot of users on X (formerly Twitter) called out the video as being one of the worst Super Bowl ads ever with comments like “I mean this is in the nicest way but fire that marketing team,” “this s*** looks like it was made by Grok and that’s not a compliment,” and “I knew it was AI because a human with actual artistic ability wouldn’t make something so f***ing ugly.”
One of the studios that produced the ad, Silverside AI, was also responsible for the panned November 2024 Cola-Cola ad that that used AI to have animals react to a slew of delivery trucks.
