Meta’s Uplifting AI Ad: A Song for Hope Amidst World Challenges

Thursday morning, Meta unveiled a new advertisement on its official Instagram account, emphasizing that artificial intelligence will not “weaken our connections” or “leave us behind.” This ad features a reimagined rendition of David Bowie’s 1972 classic, “Five Years,” a song that delves into themes surrounding the end of the world.

“Call us optimists, call us dreamers, call us whatever you want, but we’re betting on people. And we like odds like that,” the narrator remarks. The scene shows two parents laughing with their toddler as they play with butterflies, alongside Jalen Brunson waving at the Knicks’ championship parade. Notably, the ad addresses the potential misuse of smart glasses, particularly regarding privacy concerns.

The portion of “Five Years” used in the advertisement includes compelling lyrics:

I heard the phone, I heard the opera house, I heard my favorite melody.

The boys, toys, iron, watched TV

My brain hurt like a warehouse and I couldn’t afford it.

I had to pack a lot of stuff to keep everything there

And all the fat people and the thin people

And all the tall and short people

and everyone no one

And all of someone’s people

I didn’t think we would need so many people.

Interestingly, many parts of the original song are omitted, including the poignant beginning:

The news had just come in.
We had five years left to cry.
A newsman told us through tears.
The earth was really on the verge of extinction.

In a statement, Mehta’s publicist, Frances Brennan, highlighted David Bowie’s own insights about “Five Years” and its meaning, noting his optimism for the future. Brennan provided a quote from 1972. Source: BowieBible.com.

“People are incredibly serious and fearful about the future, so I want to turn that feeling into a wave of optimism,” Bowie remarked in a 2012 interview. “If we could take Mickey out of the future, what would it be like?…It would be incredible technology.”

However, BowieBible.com points out that the song encapsulates the “dystopian nightmare” the Earth faces in its final five years, highlighting the ensuing panic, violence, and quests for redemption.

The site also references a 2018 interview with drummer Mick Woodmansey: “We knew it was about the end of the world,” said Woodmansey. “I remember he was really crying when we recorded it; he was doing the vocals, and he was actually crying.”

Jeremy D. Larson, associate director at Condé Nast’s sister publication Pitchfork, noted that appropriating songs for commercials has a long history, referencing a carnival cruise ad that used an Iggy Pop song about addiction. He also mentioned that since Warner Chappell Music owns Bowie’s catalog, they retain the final say on the use of his music.