Using AI to create a timely, viral video… in one week

A silly shower thought—triggered by the prospect of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg cage fighting—quickly turned into a challenge:

Would it be possible to create an ad for a fake 1990s-style fighting game that parodied the absurdity of the moment before the end of the news cycle?

Just six months prior the answer would have been a resounding, “NO.” However, advancements in AI made it possible for a group of four advertising professionals to create a viral video that generated millions of views, dozens of copycats, multiple online articles, and even bootleg merchandise—ALL during one holiday week.

AI platforms and creative programs used:

• Adobe Firefly

• Midjourney

• PlayHT

• Adobe Premiere

• Adobe After Effects

• Discord

Online articles about the “game.” Yep. People thought this thing was real.

Bootleg merchandise!