During the NBA Finals, betting platform Kalshi aired a $2,000 commercial created entirely by AI, marking a notable shift in advertising approaches. The ad features surreal scenes linked to various betting topics, including which team will win the finals, hurricane counts, and egg price changes.
Scenes include an elderly man with a chihuahua, a person swimming in eggs, and an alien drinking beer. The surreal, nonsensical nature aligns with popular AI-generated content trends often seen on social media.
AI filmmaker PJ Accetturo revealed on X that Kalshi commissioned him to produce the ad using Google’s text-to-video generator Veo 3. Accetturo explained that the ad required 300–400 generations to compile 15 usable clips, taking 2-3 days of work by a single person and cutting costs by 95% compared to traditional ads.
His process involved scripting, using Gemini to generate shot lists with prompts for Veo 3, and editing the final clips in applications like CapCut or Adobe Premiere Pro. Accetturo noted limiting prompts to five at a time to maintain quality.
With Veo 3 only recently launched, this televised AI-generated ad signals an emerging trend. Companies like Amazon, Meta, and Netflix are developing AI tools to support advertisers, suggesting AI-generated content in mainstream advertising will become more common.