Jonas Brothers and Almond Breeze parody bad AI creative
In a new long-form film from McKinney and production partner CYLNDR Studios, the brothers and the brand explore increasingly over-the-top ad concepts.
)
Blue Diamond Growers’ Almond Breeze is kicking off with a campaign starring Jonas Brothers, but not in the way you might expect.
In a new long-form film (~3 mins) from creative AOR McKinney and production partner CYLNDR Studios, the brothers and the brand explore increasingly over-the-top ad concepts before landing on the simplest, yet most effective positioning: just tell people “It’s really good.”
To drive relevance among Millennials at the time of year where almond milk is most top of mind, Almond Breeze is tapping into their love of music and their love for the Jonas Brothers to kick off the new year. The spot follows Jonas Brothers’ fictional “brand partnership agents,” Nate and Jane, who pitch the trio a series of wildly misaligned concepts for their partnership with Almond Breeze. First, there’s Kevin Jonas battling intergalactic “milky monsters” in a hyper-stylised AI action epic. Then the brothers transform via “generative” enhancements into fragrance-ad heartthrobs presenting Almond Breeze with awkward sensuality. The last idea shows the brothers in a throwback milkman fantasy that misses the mark entirely. After wading through the AI-fuelled chaos, the brothers propose ditching the AI gimmicks and just delivering a straightforward truth: “It’s really good.”
In a tight collaboration with McKinney, the AI-driven sequences were executed by CYLNDR Studios, with early creative involvement shaping the AI scenes to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the platforms, guided by artistic sensibilities, creative direction, and design skills. The result is a long-form ad made from ads that poke at the cultural conversation around AI “slop,” using humour to highlight how easy it is to generate content today, but how rare it is to make something that actually resonates.
Credits
View on- Agency McKinney/Durham
- Production Company CYLNDR (In-House at McKinney/Durham)
-
-
-
Unlock full credits and more with a shots membership
Credits
View on- Agency McKinney/Durham
- Production Company CYLNDR (In-House at McKinney/Durham)
- Executive Creative Director Can Misirlioglu
- Managing Director Sylvain Tron
- Senior Producer McKinney/Los Angeles
- Executive Director of Production Kara O’Halloran
- Chief Creative Officer Omid Amidi
- Chief Creative Officer Lyle Yetman
- Creative Director: David Mattera
- Creative Director Erynn Mattera
- Senior Producer Kate Rauber
- Director of Production Pierre Roache
- Talent Jonas Brothers
Explore full credits, grab hi-res stills and more on shots Vault
Credits
powered by- Agency McKinney/Durham
- Production Company CYLNDR (In-House at McKinney/Durham)
- Executive Creative Director Can Misirlioglu
- Managing Director Sylvain Tron
- Senior Producer McKinney/Los Angeles
- Executive Director of Production Kara O’Halloran
- Chief Creative Officer Omid Amidi
- Chief Creative Officer Lyle Yetman
- Creative Director: David Mattera
- Creative Director Erynn Mattera
- Senior Producer Kate Rauber
- Director of Production Pierre Roache
- Talent Jonas Brothers
This launch also kicks off the next phase of Almond Breeze’s partnership with Jonas Brothers, inviting influencers to develop their own AI Jonas Brother ads for the brand. Select submissions will be featured on Almond Breeze’s social channels, and a lucky few may even get a reaction video from Jonas Brothers themselves.
From Maya Erwin, VP, Marketing & Innovation, Blue Diamond Growers: “As a brand, Almond Breeze is focused on building culturally relevant connections with Millennials, and our Jonas Brothers AI campaign is a powerful proof point of that strategy in action. It brings together a beloved pop culture icon, a product people love, and responsible use of emerging technology to deepen engagement with our core audience. We’re especially proud of the collaboration with McKinney, CYLNDR Studios, and Fleishman Hillard. Their thoughtful AI stewardship enabled us to push into new territory in a way that is on‑brand, on‑strategy, and sets a high bar for how marketers can experiment with the technology.”
From Omid Amidi, co-CCO at McKinney: “Right now, everyone’s racing to use AI, and a lot of what’s landing feels interchangeable. We wanted to go the opposite direction and use AI in a way that disarms people instead of impressing them. By poking fun at bad, overblown AI ads, we were able to land on something very human and very Almond Breeze. The product is genuinely good, and that realness matches the energy of the brand. AI was just the tool, not the point. And when the product is good and the brand is confident, you don’t need to over-engineer the story.”
From Sylvain Tron, Managing Director of CYLNDR Studios: “Brands are under pressure to participate in AI-driven culture without adding to the noise. Developed within our AI Studio, the work was shaped with AI creators involved from the outset, aligning scripts to the real strengths and constraints of the AI platforms. The focus was on applying judgment, direction, and design discipline so the output felt intentional, efficient, and clearly rooted in Almond Breeze’s identity.”
