Ad of the Month - Microsoft Copilot
AI dominates today’s tech landscape, with companies racing to launch new capabilities and win users. In this competitive sprint, effective advertising is critical for building brand salience, product familiarity, and user consideration.
At Human Made Machine, we tell you whether your creative will be effective with your target audience. This is crucial, as creative contributes up to 70% of a campaign's success. We test thousands of creatives each month in realistic, simulated media environments using the gold standard of control/exposed experiments to predict real-world impact. To dig deeper into performance, we collect qualitative and quantitative data, analyzing what works - and why.
In this issue of Ad of the Month, we examine how AI brands craft messaging to capture attention and where they fall short. They face steep odds: a well-known category leader amongst consumers (ChatGPT), little perceived differentiation, and persistent AI skepticism. Winning requires balancing AI’s potential with consumer comfort, showcasing unique features without alienating a broader audience, and persuading everyday users to give it a try.
Microsoft Copilot Fitness
Our winning ad this month comes from one of the major tech players, Microsoft, presenting Copilot Vision in a refreshingly approachable Instagram ad. The message is straightforward, with clear product demonstration and interaction between human and machine. The ad doesn’t over-explain the tech that enables AI to act as a personal trainer, yet provides enough to showcase the product’s depth to a not-very-familiar audience. Clear upfront branding, good pacing, and high production value further help this ad drive lifts for Awareness, Favourability and Usage Intent.
While we see other brands achieving similar results for their ads on social media - including Perplexity AI and Claude, which we touch on below - what makes this ad stand out is the particular balance it achieves: it doesn’t overcomplicate the technology, nor does it play safe by chasing feel-good emotions alone. As a result, this ad received the highest number of positive, open-ended comments from viewers, most notably about the product itself.
I like the idea of using an AI assistant, especially if you work with your hands a lot or you’re constantly on the move, the AI assistant would be programmed to literally answer most questions you could think of on a whim.
I like how they explained how AI can improve daily tasks.
I like that it showed a side of Copilot that makes it seem almost human.
In contrast, our data shows that pulling too far back on details and product benefits can lead to lackluster brand lifts, or none at all. ChatGPT’s ad promoting its image generation for free missed the mark on driving lift for Usage Consideration by being too broad and simplistic. Its lack of polished visuals, product demonstration, and a relatable, authentic example largely left viewers bored and confused.
Honourable Mentions This Month
Overall, AI ads on average score lower than the broader tech sector across our Diagnostic Pillars (Breakthrough, Appeal, and Engagement), which are proven indicators of ad effectiveness. As a fast-emerging technology with unprecedented potential, it’s no surprise that AI ad creative must work harder to gain traction and trust with consumers.
Our runners up this month further exemplify the importance of substance. Our analysis shows that viewers crave meaningful rationale for why they should take up AI in their daily routines, rather than quirky, neat tricks they can pull out at their next dinner party.
Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI’s ad achieves brand lift by tapping into a common human insecurity - how to not look dumb in front of friends and colleagues - and demonstrating step-by-step how the product can help users overcome that challenge. But while many viewers note the ad’s distinctiveness and relevance - leading to lifts in Awareness and Usage Intent - others are turned off by the ad’s shouty tone and faster pace.
Claude
Claude takes a surprising approach with a long-form social ad, far beyond typical best practices. The ad itself features a UK productivity influencer, which potentially limits the ad’s relevance to a more niche audience. Based on our analysis, we also know that viewers likely see just 10s of the ad before moving on, further reducing its impact. However, its use of clear branding, relatable use cases, product demonstration, and consistent on-screen text to support a detailed voiceover nonetheless help drive substantial brand lifts.
As the world continues to collectively figure out what the new AI-powered reality means for consumers, one thing is certain - having creative that prioritizes clarity and a simple yet genuinely meaningful use-case example go a long way to capture a piece of the (artificial) pie.
At Human Made Machine, we help our partners identify creative that truly resonates and turn that understanding into confident, effective advertising.
Want to learn more about how to maximize the return on your ad spend with effective creative? Connect with us and request a demo.