2 Comedians Turn 10 Fake AI Ads Into NYC Subway Art Show
Updated
Updated · Gothamist · Aug 10
2 Comedians Turn 10 Fake AI Ads Into NYC Subway Art Show
1 articles · Updated · Gothamist · Aug 10
Summary
West 4th station hosted Harris Alterman and Dave Ross’s fake AI ad installation Saturday, expanding a viral subway prank into an MTA-linked art show with faux products including Sam Altman Kool-Aid.
5 million views on the pair’s June Instagram reel helped drive the show after they briefly posted the parody ads in stations to mock the confusing, jargon-heavy style of real tech marketing.
15% of ads on New York City subways and buses came from tech companies in the first quarter of 2026, while subway tech ads were up 50% from a year earlier, underscoring the saturation they were targeting.
Visitors used an iPad to generate their own spoof ads, and attendees said the installation turned irritation with AI marketing into a shared, more human community experience.
The comedians have since launched the Instagram account ai.conglomerate and say they want to keep building larger projects around the fake-company universe.