A year after celebrating human creativity, Samsung is spamming YouTube with low-effort AI ads — and the irony is impossible to ignore.
From Creative Leader to AI Slop Distributor?
Samsung has long enjoyed a reputation for producing clever, bold, and human-centered advertising. But that reputation is now under fire. In a stark contrast to its past campaigns, Samsung’s recent AI-generated YouTube ads feel like a major step backwards in tone, quality, and message.
A Flood of Low-Effort AI Content
Around mid-October 2025, Samsung began uploading AI-generated ads to its global YouTube channel—mainly to promote its Neo QLED TV lineup.
- The visuals feel generic and unpolished.
- The voiceovers sound robotic and unnatural.
- Worst of all, these ads lack any human touch, making them come off as soulless and artificial.
The content isn’t just disappointing — it’s ironic. These AI-produced ads repeatedly push the slogan: “It’s fake; choose real.”
Wait, Didn’t Samsung Just Defend Creativity?
This sudden turn is especially jarring given Samsung’s 2024 “UnCrush” campaign, which directly mocked Apple for “crushing creativity.”
- Apple’s iPad Pro ad showed analog tools like cameras and instruments being destroyed under a hydraulic press.
- In response, Samsung’s UnCrush ad featured a live guitarist, proudly declaring, “We would never crush creativity.”
The message was clear: Samsung stands for real, human-made creativity.
Now, just a year later, Samsung is flooding its audience with AI-generated ads that feel like the very creativity they once claimed to protect has been flattened and replaced by automation.
“Choose Real” — From an AI?
Adding fuel to the fire is the tone-deaf messaging of the new ad series. In each one, the AI narrator urges consumers to “choose real”, referring to Samsung’s superior display technology over competitors.
Yet the irony couldn’t be thicker:
- The visuals are fake.
- The voice is fake.
- The production is fake.
- Even the emotions are fake.
How can a brand tout “realness” through ads that are anything but?
AI Isn’t the Enemy — But Bad AI Is
To be clear, AI is not the problem. Used well, it can enhance creativity and streamline production. But lazy use of AI—especially in advertising—can alienate audiences and damage brand trust.
Samsung could have used AI to assist in creative storytelling, not replace it. Audiences want ads that feel inspired, not ones that feel like they were spit out in seconds by a text prompt and a render bot.
A Missed Opportunity
Samsung’s Neo QLED TVs are excellent — vibrant, feature-rich, and competitive. But instead of promoting them with meaningful or emotionally resonant storytelling, the company chose to churn out low-effort AI spam. It doesn’t just misrepresent the product—it undermines its appeal.
The disappointment lies not in the use of AI, but in how uninspired and tone-deaf this campaign has been.
One year ago, Samsung told the world it would never “crush creativity.” Today, its YouTube channel feels like a graveyard of AI-generated content that does exactly that. Creativity isn’t just about tools—it’s about heart, intention, and connection. Samsung once knew that. Hopefully, it finds its way back soon.
