Maserati’s new campaign pits human emotion against machine precision
In its new campaign, Maserati uses an AI narrator to reflect on its Nettuno engine, showing that while a machine can know every detail, it cannot feel the drive.
Luxury automobile manufacturer Maserati has launched a new campaign titled ‘Do AIs Dream of Driving?’, created in collaboration with creative agency DUDE and production studio Studio FM.
The 60-second film imagines an advanced AI named ‘Leonardo’ that knows every specification and blueprint of Maserati’s own Nettuno engine, yet, despite this knowledge, cannot experience the emotion, thrill and sensory feel of driving.
The film opens in a futuristic environment where Leonardo narrates the engine’s performance, its 630 hp output, its combustion architecture and Italian engineering heritage. Yet, alongside sleek imagery of Maseratis in motion, Leonardo glitches subtly, illustrating the distinction between technical perfection and human experience.
From a creative standpoint, the campaign intentionally integrates AI in the production process, not as a cost-cutting measure, but as a storytelling device. The protagonist was cast in the traditional human way; his digital twin was generated via AI.
The setting and styling drew from AI-assisted visual research but retained human oversight. Studio FM asserts all stages from casting to post-production adhered to an ethical protocol to protect rights and ensure transparency.
The campaign will run globally across Maserati’s social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube) and highlights a new phase in how automotive brands use generative AI, not just to showcase specs, but to evoke emotion and identity.
Creative Director Chiara Monticelli (DUDE Milan) noted that the project represented ‘an important step forward … where AI supports and enhances human creativity without replacing it.’
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