Warner Bros promotes ‘The End of Oak Street’ using bizarre AI dog podcast

Warner Bros has promoted its new film The End of Oak Street with an unconventional marketing stunt, using AI to bring the film's canine character, Starbuck, to life for an appearance on an existing AI-hosted podcast. In a 90-second clip, the studio's dog was interviewed by an AI bulldog named Frenchie on the DogPack podcast rather than promoting the film through its human stars, Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway, marking a notably unusual approach for a major studio release.

The clip, shared on Warner Bros' social media channels, saw Starbuck answer questions such as which co-star was best trained, joking that McGregor was good with treats while Hathaway could scratch both ears at once. The sci-fi survival film, about a family navigating space and time to face dinosaurs, is due in US cinemas on 14th August. The promotional choice comes at a sensitive time for the studio, given ongoing controversy over AI use in film and Warner Bros' $110 billion (£86bn) merger with Paramount, which was temporarily halted in July after a federal judge issued a restraining order.