OpenAI’s divisive ad for its new Astra model offered a glimpse at a future where people can instruct AI companions to order takeout and create video games, all from an armchair. Now, Goodwipes is taking that idea to the toilet, with a little help from AI itself.
The flushable wet wipe brand’s latest campaign swaps the polished world of Astra for Asstra in a minute-long spoof that shows similar scenes of sedentary individuals dictating commands at a screen.
In the Goodwipes version, a loud fart sounds out in the opening act, and as the ad progresses, the camera pans out to reveal that the humans are all using the tech on the toilet. “The future of butt wiping has arrived,” a voice declares.
More than a parody, the spot plays on the absurdity that many people do use mind-bending AI from the toilet. It also taps into one of Goodwipes’ core brand messages: that while tech has advanced at an unbelievable rate, people are still wiping their butts much the same way they did in the 1800s.
In a meta twist, the ad—which is just as glossy as the original—was created in just four days using AI by OK Future, the AI-native creative agency founded by ex-MullenLowe U.S. CEO Frank Cartagena.
“I saw the original ad and had a glimmer of an idea,” Meredith Diehn, SVP of marketing at Goodwipes, told ADWEEK. So she texted Cartagena, and they quickly set to work.
“A few years ago, we’d have spent months selling the idea, finding the money, then shooting it. And we would have missed the cultural reference point,” Cartagena explained.
From Astra to Asstra
A mix of platforms, including ArtCraft and Astra itself, were used to make the ad.
As with any traditional campaign process, there were character studies, storyboards, and set design. But, as Cartagena put it, “you’re doing it from your living room” instead of on set.
The process had to field some creative curveballs too. Chief among these was that the AI seemed to be “obsessed with having the people sit on the toilets with the toilet seats down,” and getting the seats up in every shot took the better part of a day.
On Diehn’s side, nailing the brand assets was important. Sometimes the platforms wrongly added a lid to Goodwipes packs, or garbled the copy on the front. “Our distinctive assets are so important to us, so some of the biggest challenges were the back-and-forth and questions around whether the product looked right,” she said.
