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

If you’ve been riding the New York City subway lately, you’ve likely noticed the stark white ads promoting a wearable AI device called Friend.

According to CEO Avi Schiffman, the company spent over $1 million on the massive campaign, which includes more than 11,000 subway car ads, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels. In some locations, like West 4th Street, Friend ads have taken over entire stations.

“This is the world’s first major AI campaign,” Schiffman told Adweek. While there have been other AI marketing efforts, he said this was perhaps the first print campaign on such a scale. He admitted it was “a huge gamble,” adding, “I don’t have much money left.”

Friend’s $129 wearable device has stirred controversy. Writers at Wired recently slammed it for constant surveillance, with one review bluntly titled: “I Hate My Friend.” Some subway ads have also been vandalised with graffiti labelling the device as “surveillance capitalism” or encouraging people to “get real friends.”

Schiffman acknowledged the backlash, saying he knew that “people in New York hate AI … probably more than anywhere else in the country.” He intentionally designed the campaign’s minimalistic white-space ads to provoke social commentary and spark conversation around the product.