OpenAI’s return to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive time marks a stark contrast to last year when the AI tool was pitched as a breakthrough innovation. This time around, the AI giant promoted its agent coding product, called Codex. However, the ad was elusive in how exactly Codex solved everyday problems.
The 60-second spot, “You Can Build Things,” traces a person’s journey from early experiments in science and coding to building robots and collaborating with AI, positioning Codex as part of a lifelong drive to explore and invent.
ADWEEK asked three creative leaders to weigh in on the ad.
These reactions have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Pat Laughlin, chief creative officer, Laughlin Constable
From the first scene of the spiderweb I was drawn in, just high craft all around. I liked the song. [I] liked how it was shot, and I was drawn in. Good thought at the end too with “you can just build things.” That’s what I like with the AI messaging, saying it’s a tool that allows you to create.
Sylvain Tron, managing director, CYLNDR Studios
Watching the [Anthropic and OpenAI] ads side-by-side was interesting because they revealed very different instincts about what this moment is for.
OpenAI’s spot felt like a manifesto. That’s cool—and very on-brand—but it also felt like a slight miss not to push into something more ambitious creatively, given the scale of the stage. That said, the first-person POV worked, and the emphasis on Codex grounded the message in something real and tangible rather than abstract AI hype.
Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst, Sonata Insights
It was a head scratcher. I think they missed an opportunity to catch viewers’ attention. No one in the group I was watching the game with even noticed the ad.
Watch OpenAI’s Super Bowl 60 ad, “You Can Build Things,” below.
