KFC’s Fake-AI Colonel, Reebok’s Nostalgia Bait, and the Week’s Most Shameless Ads
It’s Saturday afternoon and Madison Avenue is still allergic to subtlety. This week’s lineup of ad campaigns reads like a PowerPoint at a pitch meeting where nobody had the guts to say, ‘That’s lazy.’ KFC, for instance, wants you to believe their new spot is powered by ‘AI creativity’—translation: a couple of prompt jocks feeding Midjourney the word ‘chicken’ until the pixels hallucinate a new Colonel. If your idea of innovation is digital cosplay, congratulations, you’re ready for a brand refresh in 2026.
Meanwhile, On (the sneaker brand, not your Bluetooth speaker) rolled out an ad that’s basically a $6 million slow-motion jog through the Swiss Alps. It’s pretty, sure, but so is my weather app. Reebok, not to be outdone, is flogging 90s nostalgia like there’s a shortage of new ideas. Their campaign leans so hard on old-school aesthetics it should come with a VHS rewind button. If you’re under 40, you’ll need a history degree to get the references.
Chili’s and the Washington Post made the list, too. Chili’s thinks the path to your wallet runs through TikTok meme culture—so we get a spot that’s 80% cringe, 20% actual food. The Washington Post’s new campaign tries to convince you that news is fun again, which is a bold move in an election cycle where ‘fun’ and ‘politics’ have never been further apart.
Let’s call this week’s ad parade what it is: a festival of cargo-cult creativity. Everyone’s chasing engagement with the same tired formulas—nostalgia, fake AI, influencer cameos—because nobody wants to admit the emperor has no new clothes. If you’re a CMO reading this on your phone while pretending to watch your kid’s soccer game, here’s the uncomfortable truth: fire your agency if they pitch you another AI-generated mascot or hashtag challenge. Spend that money on a product people actually want. The rest is just noise.
