Friend, a tech start-up that’s selling an AI companion in the form of a pendant, has become the subject of arguably the year’s most controversial ad campaign (and in the wake of recent denim commercials, the competition for that title is stiff). The $129 product claims to be the AI substitute for a real friend—one that will “listen, respond, and support” users through an always-on mic. The wearer can ask questions and chat with the device throughout the day, and the “friend” will respond via a connected app. Its promotional strategy has gone viral not just for its sassy messaging, but for the massive backlash it’s set off.
The company’s 22-year-old CEO, Avi Schiffmann, says he spent about $1 million to plaster more than 10,000 posters across New York City’s subway system. The ads started popping up in late August, but non-NYC people who’ve never been confronted with Friend ads on their morning commute are now also familiar with them, thanks to photos of the campaign (and its graffiti critiques) being widely circulated online.
Many found the ads offensive for framing the drawbacks of real human friendship as reason enough to invest in an AI pendant. The minimalist black-and-white posters featured slogans like “I’ll never bail on dinner plans” and “I’ll never leave dirty dishes in the sink,” implying that Friend’s constant availability makes it superior to any human companion. Avi’s also gone on the record to compare Friend’s role in users’ lives to that of a religious figure. In an interview with Fortune, he said, “The closest relationship I would describe talking to an AI like this is honestly like God… it is an omnipresent entity you talk to without judgment.” As you might expect, that statement only triggered more outrage. (Comments like “This feels like a Black Mirror episode” and “Please, let’s go outside and talk to real people” capture the general sentiment.) And on the subway posters, defaced ads reading “Go make real friends” and “This is surveillance capitalism” reflect just how intense the Friend.com opposition has become.
Avi, a Harvard dropout who launched the company in 2023, is unbothered by the uproar. He told Cosmopolitan that as think pieces and online debates about the product stack up, the controversy actually boosted usership.“The ad feedback is very entertaining,” he said. “Over the past week, as a result of the press, we [reached] over 200,000 users… so I’d consider it a success.” Though most of Friend’s virality is driven by criticism, its growing user base reinforces the “all press is good press” cliché, which is something Avi clearly believes in.
When I DM’d Avi for a comment, he responded almost immediately, echoing a sentiment he’s shared in other interviews: “Traditional marketing is over. Nothing is sacred anymore, everything is ironic,” he shared during a podcast interview last week. Friend's mission is less devoted to garnering likeability or goodwill and more intent on grabbing your focus. Their 200k milestone might rule that in today’s attention-reliant economy, provocation really is the most effective marketing strategy of all.
