Do you recall the Cadbury 5 star ‘do nothing’ ads? The famous originals featured ‘beta Ramesh’ and ‘beta Suresh’. Have you seen the latest ‘do nothing’ ad? Well the very latest is their collaboration with Netflix on Squid Games 2. But, this article is prompted by the ad that came out just a month ago called M.A.M.A. Short for ‘Make AI Mediocre Again’. You can watch the ad here.
It is a take on the widely understood and relatable skepticism people in general have with ‘AI’ as an idea and the mystery around how it will end up impacting our jobs in the years to come. Some people hope that it will reduce our work-load. The anxiety-prone fear that it will heighten expectations from humans to match AI speed to meet deadlines. Given that 5 star champions the counter-culture stance of ‘doing nothing’, the idea in the ad is to sabotage AI. Gen AI to be specific. The POA (plan of action) being, to confuse the hell out of gen AI by filling the internet with bogus knowledge – to enable us to do nothing again. Very naturally intelligent, I’d say. That this activity would take a lot more concerted time and effort is an irony permitted by the comedic license – I suppose.
The campaign is brilliantly topical and funny but what is more amusing to me is how GenAI would find this ad very flattering – for being considered not mediocre. Also, the reality that – contrary to what the opening of the ad depicts, gen AI actually makes the lives of idiotically demanding bosses difficult and not the team’s. How, you ask? By enabling individuals with the tools to not have to depend on the classic system of training and employment at an organisation to be successful. Anybody can set up their own website, sell their product, develop expertise, learn from their own mistakes at close to no cost and eventually earn a living with their dignity and personal time intact – thanks to the internet and AI. The idea of a ‘boss’ itself is turning obsolete faster than gen AI is gaining sophistication of output.
The idea of conspiratorially filling the internet with confusing information made me look up what SEO poisoning is. When searching for something on Google, we tend to click on the top most results without paying attention, and often people accidentally click on links to websites that end up hijacking their device. Simply put, when cyber criminals use SEO maliciously, it is called SEO poisoning. Sounds scary? Well all we need to do is pay attention to the links we click on, even on the top of SERPs. (Search Engine Result Page). But, there’s good news! Speaking of AI replacing jobs, it is now replacing search engines.
We have all started searching for information by asking ChatGPT’s or other AI engines for answers and full-blown solutions. Google has already started working on AI responses to search prompts along with a series of specifically related questions. SEO is making way for AEO. Answer or ask engine optimisation. The better the answers the better for us creatures of natural intelligence seeking information for their personal, academic or professional needs. Poisoning the internet and confusing AI does not make our life easier by any yardstick. Making the 5-star M.A.M.A advertisement a little tone-deaf to reality. But, then again, this is in keeping with the brand’s overall quirky irreverence. So, this may not be a problem at all. Moreover, in the wake of the latest, on-point Squid Games 2 collaboration, the M.A.M.A ad may already have become a faint memory. The way to go today, is to keep creating content that helps stir conversations and connections – keeping the excitement alive albeit meaningfully. Having said that, it is useful to note the necessity today to have tech people in our creative teams or for creative people to turn sufficiently tech to safeguard us from unintentional faux-pas.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Be the first to comment on "Cadbury 5star ‘Sabotage AI’ Ad"