Google Pulls “Dear Sydney” Gemini AI Ad From Olympics Coverage After Controversy

Google has pulled a commercial for its Gemini AI system from coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics after the spot sparked backlash online.

“While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation,” a Google spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter.

The ad (below), titled “Dear Sydney,” featured a dad talking about his daughter, a huge fan of Olympic track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. He uses Google’s Gemini AI chatbot to help her write a letter to Sydney to share her appreciation for her.

“I’m pretty good with words, but this has to be just right,” he says before prompting Gemini to help her write the letter.

However, after the Dear Sydney ad debuted, a flurry of online commentators on X, Reddit and other platforms criticized the spot, noting how it took what should have been a personal, emotional moment and made it feel mechanical, and how it seemed to discourage creative and thoughtful writing in favor of an automated alternative.

“This ad makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it,” wrote The Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri.

Google is one of NBC’s big sponsors for the Olympics, and its AI tools are a major part of that push, though the Gemini chatbot is just one part of that.

Commercials are sometimes meant to be thought-provoking, or even controversial, although generally the brand in question would prefer to pull at heartstrings or inspire. In recent months however, the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools has changed how some consumers view spots.

In June, Toys ‘R’ Us debuted an ad created entirely using Sora, OpenAI’s text to video tool, and while some viewers were amazed at the quality of what it was able to output, others were angered that it was used to create something that should have been accomplished by people.

And in may Apple pulled an ad for its iPad Pro titled “Crush,” which showed several instruments, including a guitar and piano, being crushed by a hydraulic press. Also among the items being smashed flat are balls that look like emojis and an Angry Birds statue. Some viewers felt that it represented big tech crushing creative endeavors.