The AI Edge Podcast Ep 12. The Super Bowl Becomes the AI Bowl, with Babs Rangaiah
Feb 9, 2026
Babs Rangaiah, CEO of cc:babs and former marketing exec at Unilever, IBM and Paramount+, joins to unpack the Super Bowl turning into an AI battleground. Babs dissects Anthropic's bold positioning, the rise of AI-generated ads, and whether brands should test costly ChatGPT placements. Short takes on agent networks, brand readiness for AI, and when personalized AI-driven campaigns will break through.
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Provocative Positioning Wins Awareness
- Anthropic's Super Bowl ads positioned Claude as more trustworthy by attacking ads-in-AI rather than touting features.
- The campaign provoked OpenAI leadership and generated huge awareness despite some industry backlash.
Test ChatGPT Ads For Learning, Not Quick Performance
- If you're testing ChatGPT ads, prioritize larger brand teams focused on learning rather than immediate performance gains.
- Ensure first-party data, tracking and infrastructure are in place to capture learnings and iterate effectively.
Publishers Seek Compensation Via Marketplaces
- Platforms are building marketplaces to let publishers license content directly to AI companies.
- This trend aims to give publishers revenue and control as AI crawls and repackages their work.