The allure of generative AI has turned public-facing billboards and restaurant menus into a Lovecraftian horror show.
Bread that resembles “reptile skin” and “alien larva”-like croissants have been putting off potential customers for months now. While owners are trying to lower costs by turning to AI for their promotional material, the off-putting signage has had the opposite effect, with users on social media lambasting local businesses for doing so.
As 404 Media first noticed last month, some restaurants are finally catching onto the backfired advertising — and are pulling a 180 to score some easy points with the public. Owners and chefs are uploading pictures of themselves on social media, holding up pieces of paper, with variations of the message “We will not be using any AI to promote ourselves” handwritten on them.
Since 404 published its story, the trend has really caught fire, with well-known chefs, like “Chopped” champion and South Carolina-based Nikko Cagalanan, Brooklyn-based Sicilian pizza chain L&B Spumoni Gardens, Phoenix’s Niu Mama, and many others, vowing not to use AI for self-promotion.
