What is a spec ad? Meaning, AI examples and how to make one

A spec ad is an advert that nobody ordered. “Spec” is short for speculative: a director or creator makes a commercial for a real brand at their own cost, with no brief and no payment from that brand, to show what they can do or to get the brand's attention. It has nothing to do with “spec” as in specification.

Spec ads are an old way into advertising, and they have become a favourite format of AI creators. This guide explains the term, looks at two examples from the catalogue, and sets out how to make one.

What does “spec” mean in advertising?

Work done “on spec” is done on the speculation that it will lead to something: a job, a client, a place on a production company's roster. The same word gives film its spec script, a screenplay written without anyone commissioning it.

A spec ad looks like finished advertising, but it differs from a commissioned advert in every way that matters to the brand.

A spec ad to watch: Eleven v4

The Eleven v4 spec ad by Burak Tuyan is a clear recent example. ElevenLabs released its text-to-speech model Eleven v4 on 28 September 2026. Four days later Tuyan posted a 44-second advert for it on X and called it a spec ad.

His method, in his own description: he wrote a script of everything an AI voice “can't do”, then had Eleven v4 read it aloud.

On screen, a powdered courtier in an enormous wig strides through palace halls that recall Versailles and asks what AI voices are capable of. Can they shout like this? He shouts, and drops to the parquet. Can they sing when the moment is right, flirt in a whisper, talk with a full mouth, put on an Italian accent? Every question is asked in the voice that answers it.

This is the old advertising rule “show, don't tell”, pushed to the point of absurdity. The sceptics' objections are the script, and the product answers each one by performing it. There is no voice-over explaining features and no closing claim. For a spec ad, that economy matters: one idea, understood in the first five seconds, carried by the product itself.

The second example in the catalogue is Volvo: For Life by László Gaál, 49 seconds long, titled by its creator an “AI generated spec commercial”. It was not commissioned by Volvo, and its listing says so.

Here are both spec ads, with a parody advert and two commissioned brand films from the catalogue for comparison.

Why do AI creators make so many spec ads?

Three reasons.

• There is always a new subject. New models and tools keep arriving, and each launch is a reason to make a film. The Eleven v4 spec appeared within days of the model.
• The costs have fallen. A traditional spec ad usually needs a crew, a location and often a car or a product to film. A generated one needs an idea, time and tool subscriptions.
• Everyone gets something. The brand gets an advert it did not order, the creator gets a portfolio piece, and viewers get a good short film.

The advert doubles as a demonstration. A spec for an AI tool, made with that tool, shows the product and the maker's skill in the same 44 seconds.

Does a spec ad get you work?

Sometimes, and nobody can promise it. Director Jono Seneff made a spec commercial for the Tesla Model 3 that spread widely in 2018. He told No Film School that “the work I have gotten from the film has already paid for the film itself.”

That is the realistic best case: the brand may never call, but other clients see what you can do. Treat a spec ad as a portfolio piece that might travel, not as a pitch that will be answered.

How do you make a spec ad with AI?

1. Choose a product whose promise fits one picture. A new launch gives you a news hook, but any brand with a clear promise works.
2. Find the single idea. Write it in one sentence. “The objections are the script” is one. If it takes a paragraph, keep looking.
3. Keep it to advert length. The two spec ads in the catalogue run 44 and 49 seconds. Thirty to sixty seconds is the range to aim for.
4. Produce it like a short film. Shot list, stills, clips, sound, edit. The stages are in our guide to making your first AI short film.
5. Label it. Put “spec ad” or “spec commercial” in the title and the description, and say that the brand did not commission it. Both catalogue examples do.
6. Publish it where the brand and your peers will see it, then submit it to AIcineverse. We list such films under spec work.

Is it legal to make an advert for a brand without asking?

This is general information, not legal advice, and the law differs by country.

A spec ad uses someone else's trademark without permission. In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office describes trademark infringement as unauthorised use of a mark in a way that is likely to cause confusion about the source or sponsorship of goods or services. The practical risk in a spec ad is therefore that people take it for the brand's own advertising.

Makers reduce that risk in the same few ways:

• label the film clearly as spec work, not commissioned and not official
• keep it in a portfolio and on your own channels, and never run it as paid advertising
• don't use a real person's face or voice, or music you have no licence for
• take it down if the brand asks

Spec work is a long-standing custom in advertising, but custom is not permission. If a spec ad matters to your business, ask a lawyer in your country.

Common questions

Is a spec ad the same as a fake ad?

No. A spec ad is for a real brand and says openly that it is unofficial. A parody advert sells something that doesn't exist: Pepperoni Hug Spot in the catalogue advertises a pizza restaurant that doesn't exist, and couldn't. Both appear among the catalogue's adverts.

Do brands pay for spec ads?

Not by default. The brand did not order the film and owes its maker nothing. It may share the film, hire the maker or ignore it.

How is a spec ad different from a brand film?

A brand film is commissioned and published by the brand. Coca-Cola: Masterpiece and The Origin of Toys“R”Us in the catalogue are brand films. A spec ad is published by its maker.

How long should a spec ad be?

As long as a real advert: 30 to 60 seconds. Shorter is harder to write and easier to finish.

Can I put a spec ad in my portfolio?

Yes, that is what it is for. Mark it as spec work wherever you show it, so a viewer never has to guess whether the brand was your client.