AI startup Friend spent more than $1M on all those subway ads
In Brief Posted: 10:22 AM PDT · September 27, 2025 Image Credits:Joe Josephs / Getty Images Anthony Ha AI startup Friend spent more than $1M on all those subway ads If you’ve been on the New York City subway recently, you’ve probably seen stark white ads promoting a wearable AI device called Friend. CEO Avi Schiffman told Adweek that the company spent more than $1 million on a campaign with more than 11,000 cards on subway cars, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels. Some stations, like West 4th Street, are completely dominated by Friend ads. “This is the world’s first major AI campaign,” Schiffman said. (There have been other AI ads of questionable effectiveness, but perhaps not a print campaign of this scale.) He described it as “a huge…
