OpenAI is running retro, analog-flavored TV ads to build brand awareness ahead of its IPO, MediaPost's Laurie Sullivan writes, pointing to spots the New York Times reported were made by agency Isle of Any. One ad, “Dish,” sets a young man's ChatGPT recipe prompt in an apartment full of mid-century props and books, while “Trip” follows siblings on a road trip in a discontinued Volvo wagon with ChatGPT directions on screen. Sullivan reads the campaign as pitching technology that lets people stay human rather than showing off the model's full power, a framing one cited tech writer found overly “denatured.” She ties it to a broader consumer pullback from tech, and notes OpenAI's own 2025 study found ChatGPT use is mostly everyday practical tasks.
