May 15, 2026

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: AI Might Make Campaign Ads Halfway Tolerable.

If there’s a person on the face of the planet who actually appreciates and enjoys political campaign ads, I’d like to meet them. On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t. We’ve all experienced those weeks of torture leading up to primary or general election battles — where you can’t escape the horror that is political advertising. It’s bad. It’s annoying. It’s grating. It’s irritating. And it’s seemingly endless.

But the rise of AI and social media has introduced a new wrinkle into things, and we’re seeing that play out in particular regarding the L.A. mayoral race. Now, many of the “ads” we’re seeing aren’t actually from the campaign(s). They’re from creative sorts, interested in the race, who have put their imaginations and AI to work and come up with some real bangers.

I happened upon this one last night and couldn’t help but marvel at its cleverness — and its swiftness. This one incorporates components from things that just happened on Wednesday! Watch and enjoy.

I don’t know how Pratt will actually do in the election (John Nolte sounds particularly glum), but his campaign and its supporters have jump-started a new form of political advertising that will be endlessly copied going forward:

UPDATE:

Posted at 4:55 pm by Ed Driscoll