Everyone Hates Friend AI and That Is Actually the Point

Out-of-home advertising can be a mixed bag. Brands can stand out for an exceedingly clever breakthrough billboard or end up alienating potential customers by turning their execution into an inescapable hellscape surrounding harried travelers (yes, I’m thinking of the tortuous PenFed jingle from the main corridor at Dulles airport). The point is, when you do out-of-home advertising to commuters, for better or worse you do have a captive audience.

For AI startup Friend AI, the strategy was to l...