Toys ‘R’ Us owner just used OpenAI’s Sora to bring zombie brand to life

But while OpenAI has reportedly introduced Hollywood to the technology, one of the first entities to publicly bite is brand management company WHP Global, which currently licenses the Toys “R” Us brand to stores like Macy’s and is exploring larger stores as well. Nearly every Macy’s department store now contains a branded toy section, but it’s usually a few paltry aisles of toys rather than the toy warehouses that once fueled children’s dreams.

While some headlines are talking about the first commercial produced with OpenAI’s Sora, the press release doesn’t suggest it will air anywhere other than toysrus.com, although it also premiered to an audience of advertising agency managers during the Cannes Lions 2024. Festival in France last week.

The PR also doesn’t try to claim that it’s entirely AI-generated. Native Foreign, the creative agency that produced the footage, had “about a dozen people” working on the video and applying “corrective visual effects” on top of it, according to director Nik Kleverov. Sora “got us about 80-85% of the way there” he wrote about:

It appears Native Foreign even reused an earlier shot generated with Sora as part of the Toys “R” Us project. Here’s a bike repair shop the company showed off in March, compared to the final corrected clip:

Disclosure: Vox Media, the parent company of The Verge, has a technology and content agreement with OpenAI.