Froggle, Goofstump and the fake AI companies winning hearts online

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**Dave Ross** (1:25)
One of the ones we posted says, ziplink is now Froggle. And what does it say at the bottom?
Cloud-based online...

**Harris Alterman** (1:34)
The cloud-based software you know and love.

**Dave Ross** (1:36)
Safety. The cloud-based safety you know and love. Now in the palm of your hand.

**Meghan McCarty Carino** (1:42)
It's mad libs for inscrutable AI marketing. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Meghan McCarty Carino.
Froggle, Dennis, cutlery.ai, all names of made up AI companies featured in ads posted around the New York City transit system a few weeks ago.
The ads are fake, but they bear an eerie resemblance to the real AI marketing campaigns proliferating in many cities. Comedians Harris Alterman and Dave Ross are the masterminds behind this elaborate joke. Their video has racked up more than 230,000 likes on Instagram and thousands of comments. The two join me to talk about the inspiration for the project. Hey, welcome to the show.

**Dave Ross** (2:38)
Hey, thanks for having us. And I also want to thank you for confirming that we're masterminds.

**Harris Alterman** (2:45)
I don't think I've ever been referred to as a mastermind.

**Dave Ross** (2:47)
This is a first and it happens to me all the time. And I'm just really, I'm just really happy to hear it again.

**Meghan McCarty Carino** (2:54)
So are you evil masterminds? I guess is the question.

**Dave Ross** (2:57)
Yes, we're doing this for money to hurt people.

**Harris Alterman** (3:00)
And power.

**Meghan McCarty Carino** (3:02)
All right, well, Harris, I understand this idea sort of originated with you. Why did you want to do this?

**Harris Alterman** (3:11)
I wanted to do this because I was going insane riding the subway every day, seeing all these tech ads that were completely confusing and I had no idea what they meant.
And I guess I wanted to see if other people also felt like they were going insane. And I think by this project getting as much attention as it did, it was very validating knowing that we are all feeling like we're going insane.

**Meghan McCarty Carino** (3:39)
And what is it about sort of the AI advertising that makes you feel like you're going insane?

**Harris Alterman** (3:45)
It makes me feel like I'm going insane because I don't know what they're selling.
People used to make advertisements like, we sell bread, we sell chairs, and I know what bread and chairs are. And now when you read an ad, you're like, I don't even know what you're selling. So you feel like you're not even connected to reality anymore because you're like, do I need to buy this? I don't even know what it is.

**Meghan McCarty Carino** (4:12)
If you could describe, Dave, a few of the ads that you guys put up around New York City, some of your favorite ones, I know it's kind of a Sophie's choice.

**Dave Ross** (4:24)
Yeah. Okay. Every single ad looks dumb and says nothing. They tend to be a solid color background with one piece of techie clip art, and they're all in the same font and the font is brief. There's a business name with a small logo, and some catchphrase. And so one of the ones we posted says, Zip Link is now Froggle. And the, what does it say at the bottom?
Cloud-based online.

**Harris Alterman** (5:00)
The cloud-based software you know and love.

**Dave Ross** (5:02)
Safety. The cloud-based safety you know and love. Now in the palm of your hand.