‘A Parody Tool’: How FP1’s New Creative Head is Thinking About AI
The ad opens with a cheering studio audience and an announcer introducing a game show, “Name That Nancy,” in which a pair of contestants are presented with a quote and asked to guess who said it: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., or Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker.
The 30-second digital spot, paid for by a super PAC backing South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, is the work of the Republican ad firm FP1 Strategies, which used AI to generate everything from the shimmering game show studio to the audience and contestants.
It cost a small fraction of what it would take to film and edit such an ad. FP1 didn’t have to hire actors or build out a set. There was no weeklong shoot to deal with.
“We literally used AI to create it in a day,” said Trent Wisecup, a partner at FP1 and, as of this week, the agency’s new creative director. “It was just the cost of the ad production fee to the client.”
The spot epitomizes how Wisecup, who will also serve as creative director for FP1’s sister company PLUS Communications, wants to approach the use of AI in his new role. In his words, AI can be a “parody tool.” The idea isn’t to try to deceive viewers by passing off AI-generated content as the real deal, he said, but rather to create something fun that resonates with voters.
“If you’re transparent about it and it’s being used in a humorous type of way, it can definitely work. That’s what we’re kind of leaning into,” Wisecup said. “You’re making a joke. You’re making light of a situation. You’re not trying to drop somebody into thinking this is a real, serious thing.”
Across the political spectrum, political creatives are experimenting with new ways to incorporate AI technology into their work. Some have begun relying on AI voiceovers to produce rough cuts of ads to show clients before they go to air. Others have used AI to reproduce the voices of opposing candidates.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee on Friday unveiled a new digital ad that used AI to generate a video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., verbalizing a quote that he recently gave to Punch Bowl News.
In an interview with Campaigns & Elections, Wisecup said that he’s still drawn to testimonial-style ads; spots that feature the voices of real humans with real stories to tell. Those kinds of spots will remain a hallmark of FP1’s work, he said.
But like any other political creative, Wisecup said he wants to explore what’s possible with AI. And to do that, he said, he’s relying heavily on FP1’s younger workers, who are “really sophisticated with AI.”
“We’ve got a lot of really talented young people here that I get to work with. I’m deep into my career so to sort of be in this leadership role when something new and exciting is happening with AI and to be learning that stuff with young people, it’s exciting. It’s reinvigorating.”
Earlier this year, FP1 released a series of digital videos on its social media channels promoting the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” the massive tax and spending law backed by President Donald Trump. The videos featured a series of testimonials from AI-generated characters, including one woman who appears to be wading through a swamp, holding an alligator in her arms.
According to Wisecup, FP1 “would never run” such an ad in an actual campaign. Rather, the idea of the video, he said, was to show potential clients that the creative shop is experimenting with AI tools at a time when political practitioners are scrambling to figure out how to use the emerging tech.
“It’s going to have a massive impact on politics and communications and advertising across the board,” he said. “And the people who know how to use the tools are going to be the ones to really separate themselves from the pack.”
