Wil Anderson on Viral Ads, Deepfakes, and the Blurring Lines Between Entertainment and Truth

Interview with Wil Anderson on Digital Media and Advertising

Wil Anderson, comedian and presenter of Gruen, shares insights into the evolving landscape of digital media and advertising. Ahead of the new season of Gruen, he discusses viral content, AI deepfakes, and the shifting dynamics brands face in this unpredictable environment.

Viral Media: A Double-Edged Sword

Sath Balasuriya (SB): With the democratization of internet access, going viral is easier than ever without a huge ad budget. How has this affected traditional advertising?

Wil Anderson (WA): The ability for anyone to create viral content instantly is exciting. But virality isn't a guarantee of sustained success. Many creators get trapped repeating a viral hit instead of experimenting early in their careers. Viral success can be fleeting—what's popular today might be forgotten tomorrow.

For brands, viral marketing offers an intoxicating return on investment, but it's unpredictable. For example, Sydney Sweeney's soap bars infused with her bathwater generated massive earned media from a simple idea. Still, thousands of other viral attempts barely get noticed. Viral marketing hasn't replaced traditional paid advertising because it's hit or miss. However, it's clear that having a phone in your hand gives everyone access to this powerful tool.

Marketing is shifting from huge influencers doing outrageous things to brands collaborating with micro-influencers with smaller, more engaged audiences. This approach feels more authentic and resembles word-of-mouth endorsements rather than overt ads.

The Rise of Authenticity in Advertising

SB: Does independent, user-generated marketing work so well because it doesn’t look or feel like traditional advertising?

WA: Yes. On Gruen, Russell Howcroft says ads should clearly identify themselves as ads. But the new trend is ads that don’t feel like ads. Politicians, for example, moved from polished TV ads to casual TikTok livestreams, but the core messages remain the same.

Authenticity sells, even if it’s sometimes faked. The internet is flooded with staged “real moments” designed to go viral. As deepfake technology becomes more accessible, distinguishing real from fake will get harder. People may soon struggle to tell if they’re watching a genuine statement or an AI-generated fake.

Traditionally, ads and editorials were separate. Now sensationalized headlines and ads blur those lines to maximize clicks and revenue. This shift highlights the importance of places like public broadcasting, which create content not driven by advertiser profit but by value.

Blurred Lines Between Education and Entertainment

SB: Are you concerned that it’s harder to distinguish educational content from entertainment?

WA: Definitely. The lack of a shared media experience fragments audiences. We no longer consume the same news or shows simultaneously, making collective truth harder to establish. Opinions often form from secondhand discussions rather than firsthand experience.

We may be approaching a point where distinguishing truth from fiction becomes nearly impossible. Large language models, trained on vast amounts of internet content—much of which is unreliable—can perpetuate misinformation.

Advertising plays a role here too. The oldest sales tactic is selling snake oil—ads prey on fears or desires with dubious promises. Expect ads promising miraculous health benefits or longevity to dominate your feeds.

Are Ads Driving the Shift or Reflecting It?

SB: Have ads accelerated the current media environment, or are they just symptoms of broader changes?

WA: I see advertising as a major cause, not just a symptom. The entire data collection ecosystem exists to sell products. For example, some companies track vulnerable moments, like body image issues, to target ads precisely when people are most susceptible.

This isn’t a flaw of modern technology; it’s built into the advertising model. If platforms charged users directly, many intrusive ads and data tracking practices would disappear. Instead, ad-driven models incentivize constant data collection and content manipulation.

Even search engines shifted. Google once ranked results by relevance and credibility, but paid placements have blurred that line. Now, top search results often serve advertisers more than users.

Are Ads Evil?

WA: (Laughs) I’ve been saying this for nearly 20 years. Ads exploit fears and desires relentlessly. The new season of Gruen dives into these topics and is available now on ABC iview.