AI-generated ads were produced with Google’s VEO3 Air during the NBA Finals, cutting production costs by 95%
Lonely AI filmmaker, cutting-edge generative videotapes, and one of the biggest sporting events of the year. This is not the plot of a sci-fi movie; it is the new reality of the ad, and it was created in just three days.
TLDR:
- first: Using Google’s Generative Video Model VEO3, a AI-generated event was created for racing platform Kalshi and aired nationwide during the NBA finals.
- Rapidly reduce costs: AI film producer PJ Accetturo created 15 paper LIP ads in just 3 days, an estimated cost reduction of 95% compared to traditional commercial production. Cost $2,000
- “Gemini to veo3” workflow: The ad is made using a simple but powerful four-step process: rough scripting, timely generation with Gemini AI-driven, video generation with VEO3, and final editing in Adobe Premiere (such as Adobe Premiere).
- The future is agile: The project marks a shift to smaller, highly skilled creative teams that use AI to quickly and economically produce large, branded content.
- Human skills are still key: Despite the leap in technology, the creators emphasize, professional taste, directorial experience and, most importantly, comedy writing is the new moat for creatives in the AI era…. I agree!
At a landmark moment of advertising and AI, AI that aired on national television this week during the NBA finals was almost entirely produced by AI. The ad, Kalshi, is the creative idea of self-proclaimed “AI filmmaker” PJ Accetturo, who was hired to appear a seat about people putting their bets on everything from sports to current events.
Advertising is here.
The results prove the rapid development ability of video generation technology. Accetturo reveals the shockingly effective process behind the ad in a detailed post on X, which leverages Google’s powerful new text to video model VEO3. The achievement highlighted the speed at which AI is being used for high-risk commercial uses just weeks after VEO3’s public debut.
AI-driven creative workflow: How many days from script to screen
Accetturo’s process has generated more than 30 million views in various projects in just three weeks, a masterclass of human collaboration. He breaks down the viral video workflow into four simple steps:
- Write a rough script: The process begins with basic creativity.
- Use Gemini to remind you: Google’s Gemini is used to flesh out scripts into detailed shot lists and generate specific prompts for video models.
- Generate with veo3: The prompt is fed into VEO3 (via Google Flow) to generate the original video clip.
- Edit in Capcut/Premiere: Final AI-generated clips are assembled, timed and polished using industry-standard video editing software.
Written with Machines: Making Vision
For the Kalshi location, the creative process first established some key conversational segments. From there, Accetturo collaborated with Gemini to invent what he called “10 wild characters in unpopular situations” to provide boundaries.
“I co-created with Gemini, asking it to come up with ideas, choose the best, and shape them into a simple script,” Accetturo explained. This partnership allows for quick conception, combining human creativity with infinite imaginations of large language models.
Tips are new guidance
The key translation layer between the script and the screen is the prompt. Accetturo uses Gemini to convert each shot from script to highly detailed paragraphs of veo.
“I then asked Gemini to pick up the script and convert each shot into a detailed VEO prompt,” he said. “I always tell it to return 5 prompts at a time and the quality starts to pass away.”
He stressed that the key is to treat each prompt as an independent indicator, providing a full context for VEO each time to maintain consistency in character, settings, and tone.
Here is an example of detailed tips for ads:
A handheld shot, shot at night on a crowded Miami Avenue like a pristine street video. A white man from the late 1960s walked confidently down the sidewalk, surrounded by tourists and clubs. He grinned from ear to ear, his belly proudly poked out of the cut pink t-shirt. He wore very short neon green shorts, white tube socks, beating sneakers and a huge foam cowboy hat with sequins on it… As he walked, he turned slightly toward the camera, still in the middle, still shouting with confidence: ‘Indiana got that dog in “Em!”
Tips, tips and bottom lines
Using VEO3 requires some internal tricks. Accetturo recommends running prompts in “fast mode” and iterating quickly. If the generation is not perfect, he recommends pasting the original prompt back to Gemini, asking for specific changes, and then trying again. He also points to some current quirks, such as the occasional unnecessary subtitles, and the use of phrases such as “screaming in the lungs” or full-hat conversations to cause AI characters to yell.
Although VEO3 has not yet supported consistent characters for multiple shots, the highly detailed description in each prompt can create a strong fantasy of continuity.
The most amazing statistic in this experiment is efficiency. “It took about 300-400 generations to get 15 available clips,” Accetturo wrote. “One person, 2-3 days. It’s 95% lower cost with traditional advertising.”
The future of advertising and the “moat” of creativity
Accetturo is quick to point out that the revolution has not articulated the end of creative professionals. “Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean anyone can do it,” he said. “I’m the director [for] More than 15 years. Brands still need premium taste. ”
He envisions a future dominated by a small, agile team that has a weekly “viral, branded posting content” that hits 80-90% impact on a small portion of the cost.
So, what are the defenses of filmmakers and advertisers in this new paradigm? According to Acetturo, this is not a technical capability, but a creative instinct. I agree that this is a good proxy for the future of human + AI.
“The most valuable skill in entertainment and advertising is comedy writing,” He concluded. “If you can make people laugh, they watch the full ad, get involved, and some of them will become customers.”
The Kalshi NBA finals ad is more than just a clever one. This is the dispatch of the media to create a future, and it is a fast-reaching future.
“AI Filmmaker” PJ Accetturo newsletter is here:
Jean-Marc is a successful AI business executive. He led and accelerated the growth of AI Power’s solutions and founded a computer vision company in 2006. He is a recognized spokesperson for the AI conference and holds an MBA from Stanford University.
