Artisan ad campaign sparks controversy in the UK – UKTN

An ad campaign for AI startup Artisan has sparked controversy in the UK due to its controversial messaging.

The advert, which featured across London public transport, displayed the text “Stop Hiring Humans…the era of AI employees is here“, tapping into anxieties over the possibility of AI technology putting jobs at risk.

The San Francisco-founded company develops AI-powered sales representatives. It closed a $25m Series A round in April that included backing from Y Combinator and HubSpot.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told UKTN that the regulator had received multiple complaints about Artisan’s ad campaign.

Despite public complaints, the watchdog determined that while potentially controversial, the marketing was not likely to cause “serious or widespread offence” and so it would not take further action.

The company previously launched its Stop Hiring Humans campaign in the US, where it was reportedly met with online backlash that prompted company co-founder and chief executive Jaspar Carmichael-Jack to post a video jokingly announcing his resignation and replacement by an AI CEO.

The US campaign included other provocative slogans, including “Artisans won’t come into work hungover” and “Artisans won’t complain about work-life balance“.

Carmichael-Jack told UKTN: “As a startup, it’s difficult to get attention and to build brand awareness – especially when you’re in a space as competitive as creating AI sales reps.

“We’ve seen a huge uptick in customer interest since launching this campaign in London and have been able to get our brand name out there without having the same budget as huge companies. Sure, it’s polarising – but it works.”

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