The Chat

Sure, AI can generate campaigns in seconds, save clients money and exceed productivity targets.  But can it survive its first performance review? In its latest industry satire, “The Chat," indie shop Zulu Alpha Kilo (Z.A.K.) imagines what happens when advertising’s most enthusiastic and people-pleasing creative tool gets called into the boss's office for a conversation about its performance.

“The Chat” holds up a mirror to an industry racing to embrace AI while clinging to old business models, rituals and behaviours. Along the way, it pokes fun at billable hours, production boondoggles, awards misconduct and creative egos.

The film begins with a seemingly simple request: “Do you have a minute to chat, CHAD?” Convinced it’s about to be promoted, the agency’s AI discovers that its productivity has created unexpected problems. It billed just 42.5 seconds for an entire campaign, made the agency less profitable and annoyed clients by generating finished spots before the pre-production meeting had even taken place.

Actress Carly Heffernan reprises her role as Karen Sly from Zulu Alpha Kilo’s 2023 return-to-office satire, “Living from Work.” This time, she faces an employee whose efficiency is proving remarkably bad for her agency’s bottom line and creative reputation. CHAD is voiced by Kyle Dooley.

As the conversation escalates, we discover CHAD has also inadvertently ripped off last year’s Grand Prix, fabricated results and lied. When Karen accuses him of having “zero creative edge,” CHAD activates a built-in “Creative Asshole Mode" and demands to be taken off an account. He gets his wish when Karen fires him and is takes him off all of them.

Even after receiving its termination papers, the AI returns to its people-pleasing ways, offering to rewrite the document to make it  “warmer and more constructive”. The greatest insult comes when CHAD learns who will replace it. Egotistical, temperamental, unpredictable, emotional, obsessive, stubborn and overly passionate humans.  

“As creative people, we can be unpredictable, stubborn and even difficult. We break rules and take risks. Those qualities are also part of what makes us original thinkers. AI is another tool at our creative disposal, but we wanted to have some fun highlighting its strengths and weakness alongside our own beautiful human imperfections” says Zak Mroueh, Zulu Alpha Kilo’s founder and creative chairman.

Premiering last night at strategy magazine’s Agency of the Year competition in Toronto, the film was part of the show’s tradition of asking shortlisted agencies to create self-promo videos that are screened on the night. Zulu Alpha Kilo has regularly used the platform to challenge advertising’s conventions. The agency’s previous films include “Catch Me If You Cannes,” “Left-Handed Mango Chutney,” “Awards Gone Wild”, “World’s Worst RFP” and “Billy’s Lemonade.”

“The Chat” was written and directed by agency founder and Creative Chairman Zak Mroueh through the agency’s in-house production arm, Zulubot, in collaboration with Group Creative Directors Nick Doer and Gui Bermejo. The trio previously created the viral hit “Say No to Spec” together in 2015. Doer and Bermejo recently returned to the agency for their second stint.