AI startup Friend spent more than $1M on all those subway ads

If you’ve been on the New York City subway recently, you’ve probably seen stark white ads promoting a wearable AI device called Friend.

CEO Avi Schiffman told Adweek that the company spent more than $1 million on a campaign with more than 11,000 cards on subway cars, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels. Some stations, like West 4th Street, are completely dominated by Friend ads.

“This is the world’s first major AI campaign,” Schiffman said. (There have been other AI ads of questionable effectiveness, but perhaps not a print campaign of this scale.) He described it as “a huge gamble,” adding, “I don’t have much money left.”

Friend’s $129 device has been controversial, with Wired writers recently criticizing its constant surveillance and declaring, “I Hate My Friend.” Similarly, some Friend ads have been vandalized with messages calling it “surveillance capitalism” and urging spectators to “get real friends.”

Schiffman said he’s well aware that “people in New York hate AI … probably more than anywhere else in the country,” so he deliberately bought ads with lots of white space “so that they would socially comment on the topic.”