Toys “R” Us has taken a bold step into the future of digital advertising with the premiere of a short promotional film created almost entirely using OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool, Sora. This innovative approach was showcased at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival in France, marking a significant milestone in the use of artificial intelligence for film production.
The 66-second advertisement delves into the origins of Toys “R” Us, focusing on a young Charles Lazarus, the visionary founder of the iconic toy brand. The narrative is brought to life with the help of the brand’s beloved mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, who appears to Lazarus in a dream. This nostalgic journey captures the spirit of innovation and creativity that has defined Toys “R” Us since its inception.
Toys “R” Us collaborated with creative agency Native Foreign, which had early access to Sora, to produce this groundbreaking ad. Kim Miller Olko, the company’s global chief marketing officer and president of Toys “R” Us Studios, expressed excitement about the project. “Charles Lazarus was a visionary ahead of his time and we wanted to honor his legacy with a spot using the most cutting-edge technology available,” she said. “Our brand embraces innovation and the emotional appeal of Toys ‘R’ Us to connect with consumers in unexpected ways.”
The ad showcases the potential of Sora, a tool capable of generating realistic and imaginative videos from simple text prompts. OpenAI introduced Sora in February, highlighting its ability to create videos featuring multiple characters, specific motion types, and detailed backgrounds. While the tool is not yet publicly available, its capabilities have already generated considerable interest and debate.
The reception of the Toys “R” Us ad has been mixed. On social media, reactions range from fascination and intrigue to discomfort and criticism. Some viewers praised the ad as a compelling glimpse into the future of film, while others found it unsettling. Writer Mike Drucker’s tweet encapsulates the latter sentiment: “Love this commercial is like, ‘Toys R Us started with the dream of a little boy who wanted to share his imagination with the world. And to show how, we fired our artists and dried Lake Superior using a server farm to generate what that would look like in Stephen King’s nightmares.’”
Nik Kleverov, chief creative officer of Native Foreign, acknowledged the challenges and learning curves involved in using Sora. “Everything you see was created with text, but some shots came together quicker than others; some took more iterations,” he explained. “The blocking, the way the character looks, what they’re wearing, the emotion, the background — it has to be a perfect dance.”
Despite the mixed reviews, Toys “R” Us sees this venture as a valuable learning experience and a step forward in their mission to innovate. “It was a lot of learning and a lot of back and forth. It was an educational process,” Miller said. She emphasized the importance of hands-on experience with new technology, a belief rooted in her early adoption of Facebook Live while working with Martha Stewart.
Toys “R” Us is currently exploring further advertising opportunities for the promo, potentially including a holiday-themed iteration. As for Sora, OpenAI has yet to announce an official release date, but rumors suggest it could launch later this summer.
