Instagram/@mrcraigrobinson
The AT&T Business has unleashed two fresh chunks of content with comedian and actor Craig Robinson and an AI assistant ridiculously named CrAIg. Robinson conducts his own comedy masterclass, from exploring the strange limitations of the assistant to enjoying it sing to multilingual tunes-the assistant won’t sing in Italian but will sing along with it. This fun campaign should entertain audiences while helping demonstrate the uses of the product.
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Craig Robinson brings his trademark deadpan delivery into a masterpiece of a commercial. Robinson begins singing “O Tannenbaum,” then goes on to making fun of the AI in a delightfully amusing tone: “Two things that are not together. Oh, they’re together immediately,” the perfect blend of confusion and charming contradiction. Robinson claims that he hardly knows anything about cars; however, that has nothing whatsoever to do with him being very much into big ones, big enough to lay on.
That’s all the more fun with some silly language rules CrAIg applies. “Do I know a lot about cars? No. Do I love them? Yes,” poses Robinson, setting up his punchline: “So CrAIg doesn’t speak in different languages, but he sings in Italian, he sings in Spanish…and then a little bit of German.” That absurdist angle is the do-or-die concept that sells the entire campaign.
The caption to the post, “Do not attempt to speak Italian to CrAIg, only sing it to him please,” captures the groovy-yellow essence of the whole thing. Scarlet-simple siegeable instruction turns what could have been a flaw into a terribly charming-sharable personality trait. Then a cute little step away from technology and onto the people.
Fan responses were equally hilarious from jump. A user connected: “You know who else liked cars? Doug Judy. 👀” Actually referring to the Pontiac Bandit, it was greeted with romper-room laughter and response: “JAJAJAJAAJAJAJA best comment ever.” The link to Robinson’s TV persona tells well about how the ad sings from his well-worn presence.
Another user found the comparison apt: “Craig be lookin like Method Man 🤯🤯🤯.” General agreement came in following one commentator: “I thought the same thing!” That is a testament to Robinson’s unique groove, to the extent that he could even remind one of another iconic musician.
The praise was to go beyond the looks. One fan was just in love with the star: “OMG😂💜 I freaking Adore U @mrcraigrobinson 😘.” Another said he looked good for his age: “Lookin gud fam @mrcraigrobinson 💪🏾,” leading to an instant request: “We need that skin routine asap.”
Riding on the multilingual premise, one user cheekily suggested: “@mrcraigrobinson try Dutch. Its like German but more sophisticated. O Denneboom, O denneboom….” Such playful banter shows that the audience was very much in tune with the silly premise of the video, with a second user confidently adding, “CrAIg probably has a good handle on Dutch as well.”
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Questions in advert-style campaigns are an absolutely brilliant cross between tech promotion and pure entertainment. Shining a light on Craig Robinson’s comedic talents by crafting greatly entertaining stories about the AI’s features has allowed AT&T Business to make something that carries less weight as a commercial and more as a comedic sketch. This way, humor grounded in personality very well can humanize technology and keep the brand message domiciled in the minds of the people. Michelle Obama, his sister, has also been known to celebrate with him at various events, including a film festival. He also recently hosted a celebration at the Hollywood Bowl.
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