What to Know
It’s nearly impossible to escape from AI at this point. From deep fake-style videos on social media to actual Super Bowl ads, AI is everywhere whether we like it or not. And now, apparently, it’s also part of The Bachelorette. When the reality show released Season 22 lead Taylor Frankie Paul’s promo on TV and posted it on Instagram, however, fans were not happy.
Sure, there were the stans who follow every Bachelor franchise show no matter what as a show of loyalty to a fault. Among them, though, were fans who thought The Bachelorette ad was clearly AI and not in a good way. It also played on a former social media trend that was already sort of dead by the time the promo was released, so there’s that.
Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ promo and ad feature an old AI trend.
A promo came out ahead of the Season 22 premiere of The Bachelorette that features Taylor walking through a wall in a red gown and then kicking through a window and showing herself in what she’s most comfortable in. The Instagram ad has the same sentiment. It shows Taylor in a box, like a Barbie. She has accessories like the Book of More Men as a play on The Book of Mormon, red heels and a matching jacket, and a red ring light.
Taylor herself is in a red gown, but she is walking through the broken wrapping of the package. The idea is that she is breaking the mold, which is all well and good. But the trend itself has come and gone. Well before The Bachelorette ad came out promoting Taylor’s season, social media users took part in the trend where they made AI-generated boxed action figures of themselves that played on their careers or other positions in life.
With the trend over and done with, and ABC seemingly turning to AI to make an ad for The Bachelorette, people aren’t too happy.
“Feels like y’all could have hired an artist rather than using AI,” one user commented on the post.
Someone else responded to the comment with, “Came here for this comment. I’m tired of seeing nothing but AI everywhere.”
Another user questioned, “Why with the AI?!” It’s a fair question. In the past, promotional art for shows in The Bachelor franchise might have been edited (no one looks that good IRL, I’m sorry), but this is just a tad bit ridiculous.
Someone else called out the AI trend with, “Social media managers everywhere recognize this 8-month-old AI trend. C’mon y’all have a huge marketing budget.”
Others agreed that ABC really “dropped the ball.” I mean, will we all still watch with bated breath to see what Taylor does and says, hoping for lots of bleeps from ABC? Yes, obviously. But we are still going to complain about the AI of it all.
