Anthropic makes Super Bowl ad debut, and the target of ’30-second spot’ is Sam Altman

Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude — the ChatGPT rival has now made its Super Bowl advertising debut with a 30-second spot which pokes fun at rival OpenAI’s recently announced plans to introduced ads in its chatbot. The commercial which was aired during the big game, dramatised the potential frustration of ads intruding into AI conversations. The ad released shows a young man doing pull-ups in a park and he asks a muscular bystander for tips on how he can achieve six-packs abs. After listening to his question, the bystander starts with a robotic, chatbot-like response before abruptly pitching ‘StepBoost Max’ insoles, complete with a discount code. The tagline drives the point home: ‘Ads are coming to AI, But not to Claude’.

Anthropic’s clear jab at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

While the Anthropic ad does not mention the name of OpenAI, the ad was a direct response to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s announcement that ads will soon appear in ChatGPT. Last month, Altman announced that OpenAI will start testing ads in ChatGPT in the coming weeks. CEO Sam Altman said that the ads will be introduced specifically for users on the Free tier and the newly launched ChatGPT Go plan, an $8-per-month subscription that debuted in the US. Notably, high-tier subscribers on Plus ($20/mo), Pro ($200/mo), and Enterprise plans will remain ad-free.“We are starting to test ads in ChatGPT free and Go (new $8/month option) tiers,” Altman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding that the company “will not accept money to influence the answer ChatGPT gives you, and we keep your conversations private from advertisers.” “It is clear to us that a lot of people want to use a lot of AI and don’t want to pay, so we are are hopeful a business model like this can work,” Altman added.Altman himself acknowledged the ad made by Anthropic and shared his thoughts on the same via a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter. “First, the good part of the Anthropic ads: they are funny, and I laughed. But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. I guess it’s on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it,” Altman wrote.

Anthropic’s broader campaign

Anthropic also aired a 60-second pregame ad, featuring a therapy session that humorously veers into a plug for a fictional dating site called “Golden Encounters.” The campaign signals a shift in AI marketing, moving away from reassuring messages about safety and jobs toward playful, competitive positioning. Andrew Stirk, Anthropic’s head of brand marketing, said the company wanted to highlight its values: “There’s a time and place for ads, and we don’t believe your conversations with AI should be one of them.”