MIXX Awards "A.I. Advertising Judge" (2017) 1:21 (Belgium)

At the MIXX Awards advertising award show in Brussels. Pearl, the first Artificial Intelligence advertising judge in the world, picked the same winner as the human judges. That's right both A.I. and human chose “Her Street View” by Touche Pas A Ma Pote, a campaign designed to highlight the poor conduct towards women in Belgium as the winner. The robotic judge told the audience it chose Her Street view, “...based on its social relevance, the emotional impact and the project’s excellent reach.” This marks the first time in advertising history, a robot independently chose a campaign winner. As for how Pearl (the A.I.) was able to teach itself advertising, it all came down to data. Apparently, Pearl analyzed ten years' worth of campaigns and distilled relevant patterns which says as much about how A.I. works as it does how advertising rewards the exact same kinds of campaigns. As usual, advertising is the first to embrace the new often with peril. Because while Pearl the A.I. judge might be a fluke for now it won't be when Cannes realize they can save thousands upon thousands of dollars (not to mention dry cleaning bills) if they replace all you lot with hardware. Then we're only a step away from a client assuming that if A.I. can judge the work, surely it can create work, too. Twenty-four hours a day, with little to no overhead. When we're all out of a job we'll know who to blame: Belgium.

Client: MIXX Awards Agency: DDB Brussels