题为“困难问题中仍有希望”的公司最新广告以其怪异的画面和末日主义的基调让观众感到不安。
广告以一段燃烧房屋的视频开场（并不是特别温馨的开头），随后转向一系列静态图片。这些图片包括正在被面部识别监控的人群、街头睡觉的无家可归者、墓地里一排排的墓碑，以及似乎是一群在矿井中辛勤劳作的工人（可能是在开采智能手机原材料）。
与此同时，画外音中有不同的人提出问题，如“人工智能可以信任吗？”和“如果需要，谁来踩刹车？”
简言之：这绝非年度的家庭友好型大片。同时，这与公司以往的宣传信息也不算特别偏离。Anthropic 一直试图将自己描绘成其他人工智能公司的道德对立面。最新的这场营销噱头——通过强调对人工智能的批评来让 Anthropic 看起来意识到（因此明显配得上）其所承担的责任——似乎仍然是同样的路线。
然而，并非所有人都买账。
OpenAI 的首席执行官、Anthropic 的主要竞争对手 Sam Altman 率先以一些俏皮的调侃开启了批评。“我以为这是讽刺，一直在找账号被拼写成 c1audeai 之类的东西，”Altman 周一在 X 上发布：https://x.com/sama/status/2076824686307271125?s=20。
其他持怀疑态度的人——其中许多人似乎在科技行业工作——也纷纷指出 Anthropic 选择这种画面和基调的奇怪之处。
“Anthropic 是一家非常了不起的公司。但企业传播却糟糕透顶，”另一位网友表示：https://x.com/__paleologo/status/2076989101236961434?s=20。
“Anthropic 的有效利他主义者们肯定活在 AI 心理病态的泡沫里才会认为这会受欢迎，”一位批评者发言：https://x.com/liquiditygoblin/status/2076990544673440094?s=20。
正如一些人指出的：https://onlykutts.com/index.php/2026/07/12/responsibility-play-anthropic-hard-questions-branding/，Anthropic 这里遵循了一个非常久经考验的营销剧本。这个剧本涉及一个品牌公开指出并承担其行业造成的伤害，以此展示自身是最有能力避免或纠正这些伤害的公司。
但即使这是一个熟悉的剧本，在这里似乎也适得其反——尤其是决定包含一段看起来来自阿灵顿国家公墓的短片。“我无法足够强调 Anthropic 投放这样一条广告，里面包含这张图片并问‘如果我们需要，谁会踩刹车？’有多糟糕，”一位评论者说，并分享了广告中出现的：https://x.com/ZackKorman/status/2076983480064352388?s=20 公墓图片。
人们不断回到墓地意象。“在广告中的所有内容里，这一部分尤其怪异和险恶，”另一位用户写道：https://x.com/growing_daniel/status/2077101330242691127?s=20，同时分享了相同的图片。
就我个人而言，这条广告让我隐约想起了《视差视界》中的宣传片段：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhztDt7-QT8 ——这部70年代偏执惊悚片讲述了一个邪恶公司卷入类似 MK-Ultra 的阴谋，制造被洗脑的刺客。这可能不是想证明自己在世界上发挥积极作用的公司最希望建立的联想。
Anthropic 的营销之前也曾引起关注。今年2月，在超级碗期间，该公司发布了一系列广告：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/08/super-bowl-60-ai-ads-svedka-anthropic-brands-commercials/，幽默地针对 OpenAI 决定在 ChatGPT 中投放广告：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/chatgpt-users-are-about-to-get-hit-with-targeted-ads/。这些广告为其赢得了不少正面关注：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/anthropics-super-bowl-ads-mocking-ai-with-ads-helped-push-claudes-app-into-the-top-10/ ——以及竞争对手的愤怒：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/04/sam-altman-got-exceptionally-testy-over-claude-super-bowl-ads/。
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Satya Nadella 对使用 AI 的公司发出了震惊警告：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/satya-nadella-has-issued-a-shocking-warning-to-companies-using-ai/ Julie Bort：https://techcrunch.com/author/julie-bort/
苹果针对 OpenAI 的商业机密诉讼中最离奇的指控：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/the-wildest-allegations-in-apples-trade-secrets-lawsuit-against-openai/ Sarah Perez：https://techcrunch.com/author/sarah-perez/
Anthropic 开始为印度本地化 Claude 定价，该市场仅次于美国：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/anthropic-starts-localizing-claude-pricing-for-india-its-biggest-market-after-the-us/ Jagmeet Singh：https://techcrunch.com/author/jagmeet-singh/
Meta 在遭到强烈反对后，移除了 Instagram 上有争议的 AI 功能：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/meta-removes-controversial-ai-feature-on-instagram-after-backlash/ Lucas Ropek：https://techcrunch.com/author/lucas-ropek/
苹果因涉嫌商业机密盗窃起诉 OpenAI：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-trade-secret-theft/ Sarah Perez：https://techcrunch.com/author/sarah-perez/
Elon Musk 赞扬 Mythos/Fable，并承诺不会‘切断’Anthropic：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/elon-musk-praises-mythos-fable-promises-not-to-cut-off-anthropic/ Julie Bort：https://techcrunch.com/author/julie-bort/
Instagram 用户：以下是如何阻止 Meta 的 AI 使用你的照片：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/how-to-stop-metas-ai-image-generator-from-using-your-instagram-photos/ Lauren Forristal：https://techcrunch.com/author/lauren-forristal/
Titled “There’s hope in hard questions,” the company’s latest ad has been unsettling viewers with its weird imagery and doomer-ist tone.
The ad begins with a video of a burning house (not exactly a heartwarming start) before pivoting to a series of still images. These images include a crowd of people being surveilled by facial recognition, a homeless person sleeping on the street, rows upon rows of tombstones in a cemetery, and what appears to be a group of laborers toiling in a mine where (presumably) raw materials for smartphones are being dug up.
Meanwhile, a voice-over track features different people asking questions like “Can AI be trusted?” and “Who’s gonna hit the brakes if we need to?”
In short: Not exactly the family-friendly crowd-pleaser of the year. At the same time, it’s also not particularly far afield from the company’s past messaging. Anthropic has consistently attempted to depict itself as the ethical foil to other AI companies. This latest marketing stunt — which leans into criticism of AI as a way to make Anthropic seem aware of (and therefore distinctly worthy of) the responsibility it carries — would appear to be more of the same.
Not everybody is having it, however.
Sam Altman — the CEO of OpenAI, Anthropic’s chief rival — kicked off the criticism with some pithy trolling. “i thought this was satire, kept looking for the handle to be spelled c1audeai or something,” Altman posted to X on Monday：https://x.com/sama/status/2076824686307271125?s=20.
Other skeptics — many of whom seem to work in the tech industry — came out of the woodwork to remark upon Anthropic’s odd choice of imagery and tone.
“Anthropic is quite an amazing company. With the worst corporate communications ever,” another person said：https://x.com/__paleologo/status/2076989101236961434?s=20.
“[T]he EAs [effective altruists] at anthropic really must be living in a bubble of ai psychosis to think this would go down well,” a critical poster remarked：https://x.com/liquiditygoblin/status/2076990544673440094?s=20.
As some have pointed out：https://onlykutts.com/index.php/2026/07/12/responsibility-play-anthropic-hard-questions-branding/, Anthropic is following a very time-tested marketing playbook here. That playbook involves a brand calling out and owning the harms caused by its industry as a way to demonstrate that it is the company best positioned to avoid or correct those harms.
But even if it’s a familiar playbook, it seems to have backfired here — particularly the decision to include a brief shot that appears to be from Arlington National Cemetery. “I can’t stress enough how fucked up it is that Anthropic is running an ad that includes this image asking ‘Who’s gonna hit the brakes if we need to?’” said one commenter, sharing the：https://x.com/ZackKorman/status/2076983480064352388?s=20 cemetery image that appears in the ad.
People kept coming back to the graveyard imagery. “Out of everything in that ad, this part was exceptionally weird and sinister,” another person wrote：https://x.com/growing_daniel/status/2077101330242691127?s=20, sharing the same image.
Personally, the ad vaguely reminds me of the propaganda sequence：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhztDt7-QT8 in “The Parallax View” — the 1970s paranoid thriller about an evil corporation involved in an MK-Ultra-esque conspiracy to create brainwashed assassins. This is probably not the best association to have for a company that would like to prove it is acting as a force for good in the world.
Anthropic’s marketing has made a splash before. In February, during the Super Bowl, the company unleashed a slew of ads：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/08/super-bowl-60-ai-ads-svedka-anthropic-brands-commercials/ that humorously took aim at OpenAI’s decision to include ads in ChatGPT：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/chatgpt-users-are-about-to-get-hit-with-targeted-ads/. Those ads earned it a good amount of positive buzz：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/anthropics-super-bowl-ads-mocking-ai-with-ads-helped-push-claudes-app-into-the-top-10/ — as well as the smoldering rage：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/04/sam-altman-got-exceptionally-testy-over-claude-super-bowl-ads/ of its competitor.
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Satya Nadella has issued a shocking warning to companies using AI：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/satya-nadella-has-issued-a-shocking-warning-to-companies-using-ai/ Julie Bort：https://techcrunch.com/author/julie-bort/
The wildest allegations in Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/the-wildest-allegations-in-apples-trade-secrets-lawsuit-against-openai/ Sarah Perez：https://techcrunch.com/author/sarah-perez/
Anthropic starts localizing Claude pricing for India, its biggest market after the US：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/anthropic-starts-localizing-claude-pricing-for-india-its-biggest-market-after-the-us/ Jagmeet Singh：https://techcrunch.com/author/jagmeet-singh/
Meta removes controversial AI feature on Instagram after backlash：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/meta-removes-controversial-ai-feature-on-instagram-after-backlash/ Lucas Ropek：https://techcrunch.com/author/lucas-ropek/
Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-trade-secret-theft/ Sarah Perez：https://techcrunch.com/author/sarah-perez/
Elon Musk praises Mythos/Fable, promises not to ‘cut off’ Anthropic：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/elon-musk-praises-mythos-fable-promises-not-to-cut-off-anthropic/ Julie Bort：https://techcrunch.com/author/julie-bort/
Instagram users: Here’s how to stop Meta’s AI from using your photos：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/how-to-stop-metas-ai-image-generator-from-using-your-instagram-photos/ Lauren Forristal：https://techcrunch.com/author/lauren-forristal/
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