Warner Bros. Discovery is facing online criticism after promoting its upcoming sci-fi thriller “The End of Oak Street” with an advertisement built around AI-generated animation. The video, posted Friday, marks one of the most visible instances yet of a major studio openly deploying AI visuals in its marketing rather than behind-the-scenes production work.
The spot was created in partnership with DogPack, a dog-owner social app behind “The Dogbone Podcast,” a scripted series that uses AI-generated animation and vocals to simulate conversations between dogs about what canines supposedly think and what their owners don’t know.
Posted to Warner Bros. Discovery’s and DogPack’s Facebook pages, as well as DogPack’s Instagram account with the studio tagged, the ad depicts two AI-animated podcast hosts interviewing Starbuck, a dog belonging to characters played by Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in the film. Separately, Warner Bros.’ Malaysia account shared its own AI-generated clip promoting the film, depicting dinosaurs attacking civilians.
Reaction has split sharply along platform lines. Top comments on Instagram have been largely negative, with users describing the ad as a serious misstep and saying it made them less likely to see the film, and reposts on other platforms drew further criticism. The response on Facebook has skewed more favorably, with at least one user calling it among the best uses of AI they’d seen.
The backlash echoes a similar controversy that engulfed A24 earlier this year after the indie studio, fresh off the runaway success of “Backrooms,” announced a research partnership with Google. Google had committed $75 million to the deal, aimed at developing AI tools for film production, prompting immediate criticism from fans given “Backrooms” director Kane Parsons’ outspoken opposition to generative AI.
A24 spokesperson Sophia Shin defended the arrangement as a research collaboration meant to give artists a hand in shaping AI tools rather than having them imposed from outside, saying the studio would rather have “a seat at the table than on the sidelines.” Parsons later said explicitly that none of the resources from that partnership would be used on any future “Backrooms” project.
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DogPack co-founder Dov Punski has previously defended his company’s approach, telling Business Insider that audiences don’t like feeling tricked and that the AI content is presented transparently as entertainment rather than something meant to deceive viewers. Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery and “Oak Street” director David Robert Mitchell did not respond to requests for comment. “The End of Oak Street,” made on a reported $85 million budget, opens in theaters Friday.
