AI TV Ads for UK Startups: Lessons from Freja

Freja Bone Broth just did something most UK startups still treat as “later-stage”: it launched on TV. More interestingly, it did it with an AI-made ad—and it’s the founding client of a new agency called Scary Robots (as reported by Campaign on 8 Jan 2026).

Most early-stage teams assume TV is either (a) too expensive, (b) too slow, or (c) impossible to measure. The reality? Those objections are getting weaker every quarter. AI-assisted production reduces creative cost and lead times, while modern planning and measurement options make TV feel less like a black box.

This post is part of our “AI Tools for UK Small Business” series, and we’re going to treat Freja’s move as a practical case study: what this signals about the UK market in 2026, what to copy (and what not to), and how to build an AI-driven brand campaign that doesn’t collapse the moment you try to scale.

What Freja’s AI TV ad signals for UK startups

Answer first: Freja’s campaign signals that UK startups can use AI to make “big-brand” channels like TV viable earlier—if they pair it with tight positioning, sharp creative, and disciplined measurement.

TV used to punish small brands in two ways: production costs and media waste. AI doesn’t magically fix media waste, but it does change the production equation. If your creative can be produced faster (and iterated more often), you can learn your way into a stronger message instead of betting everything on one expensive shoot.

Freja’s choice also reflects something seasonal and very real in January: people buy health, habit, and “reset” products. Bone broth sits neatly in that cultural moment—comforting, functional, and easy to understand in seconds. If you’re a startup planning an above-the-line push, aligning channel choice with seasonal intent is one of the highest-ROI decisions you can make.

Finally, there’s the agency angle: being a founding client for a new shop (Scary Robots) is a bet on speed, experimentation, and modern workflows. Startups don’t need “more process.” They need more learning per pound spent.

Why TV can work earlier than you think (if you plan it like a startup)

Answer first: TV works for startups when you use it as a demand amplifier, not a vanity milestone—and when your funnel is ready to catch the demand.

If you’re already seeing decent performance in paid social/search, TV can add what digital often can’t buy cheaply anymore: broad, credible reach and a brand story that makes your click-through traffic convert better.

TV’s real job: make everything else perform

Here’s what I’ve found with emerging brands: TV rarely “wins” as a last-click channel. It wins because it lifts:

• Branded search volume (“Freja bone broth” rather than “bone broth benefits”)
• Direct traffic (people typing your URL or using your app)
• Paid social efficiency (your ads feel less “who are you?”)
• Retail conversations (buyers and partners take you more seriously)

If your website can’t convert, or your offer isn’t clear, TV will simply make you fail faster—at a higher spend level. That’s not a reason to avoid TV; it’s a reason to fix fundamentals first.

The startup version of a TV plan

A pragmatic approach looks like this:

1. Start with a test window (2–4 weeks) to measure lift and operational impact.
2. Pick one primary action you want viewers to take (search the brand name, buy starter pack, subscribe).
3. Run one message per audience moment (e.g., morning health routine vs evening comfort ritual).
4. Build a measurement stack before you launch (more on this below).

Where AI helps (and where it still doesn’t)

Answer first: AI helps startups produce, tailor, and iterate creative faster; it doesn’t replace positioning, proof, or compliance discipline.

AI in advertising gets overhyped, but in 2026 it’s undeniably useful in three places: concept-to-first-draft speed, versioning, and creative learning.

1) Faster production and iteration

If you’ve ever waited weeks for edits, you know the pain: the market moves while your creative sits in review. AI-assisted workflows can shorten the cycle so you can test:

• Different openings (first 2 seconds matter on TV too)
• Different product shots and usage moments
• Different voiceovers (tone changes perception)
• Different calls to action (brand search vs direct purchase)

That speed is strategic. The brands that win aren’t the ones with the prettiest ad—they’re the ones that improve their ad the fastest.

2) Localisation and audience-specific versions

Startups in the UK often sell nationally but operate with limited budgets. AI makes it more feasible to create versions that speak to:

• Different regions (without awkward stereotypes)
• Different buyer motivations (performance, wellness, convenience)
• Different placements and durations (10s, 15s, 30s)

You’re not doing this for “personalisation theatre.” You’re doing it because message-market fit is rarely one-size-fits-all.

3) Creative analytics: turning feedback into decisions

AI can help you summarise and structure inputs like:

• Customer reviews and support tickets
• Social comments and creator feedback
• Brand-lift survey responses

The win is not that AI tells you what to say. The win is that it helps you see patterns faster—so the next creative iteration is grounded in real language customers actually use.

The limits: positioning, proof, and risk

AI won’t save you from three common failure points:

• Weak positioning: If the audience can’t tell why you’re different in 5 seconds, production value won’t rescue you.
• No proof: Health-adjacent products must be careful with claims. If you can’t substantiate it, don’t say it.
• Brand sameness: AI outputs can converge. If your ad feels like everyone else’s, you’ve lost the reason to be remembered.

A useful rule: AI can help you make more creative. It can’t help you make braver creative.

A practical measurement plan for an AI-driven TV campaign

Answer first: Measure TV like a modern growth team: track lift in brand demand, isolate incrementality, and connect exposure to downstream conversion.

Founders and marketing leads often ask for “perfect attribution.” You won’t get it. But you can get decision-grade measurement.

What to track (the minimum viable dashboard)

If you run TV in the UK, set up these metrics before you go live:

• Branded search lift (Google Search Console + paid search impression share)
• Direct traffic lift (analytics trendline vs baseline)
• New customer volume by day (and by region if possible)
• Conversion rate changes on landing pages during the flight
• Retail or Amazon uplift if relevant (even directional)

If you can, add:

• Geo-holdout tests (regions with reduced/no spend)
• Media mix modelling (lightweight) once you have enough data
• Brand lift surveys (even small samples can show directional shifts)

Connect TV to digital: make the journey easy

TV works best when the next step is frictionless:

• A homepage that loads fast on mobile
• A clear “first purchase” offer (starter bundle, trial, subscription incentive)
• Landing pages aligned to the ad’s promise
• Paid search coverage on your own brand terms (protect the demand you just created)

If your ad says “bone broth for daily routines” but your landing page leads with corporate mission statements, you’re wasting the money you just spent on attention.

Creative lessons UK startups can copy from this case

Answer first: Use AI to accelerate testing, but anchor everything in a single sharp proposition and a distinctive brand world.

We don’t have the full creative breakdown from the source article (it’s behind a sign-in wall), but the strategic lesson doesn’t depend on the storyboard. For a startup, what matters is how you approach making and shipping the work.

1) Treat your ad like a product launch, not a one-off asset

Build a backlog of creative tests:

• 3 alternative hooks
• 2 different product usage scenes
• 2 different voiceover tones
• 2 different CTAs

That’s already 24 possible combinations if you mix and match. You won’t run all of them, but you now have a systematic way to learn.

2) Pick a “memory structure” and repeat it

Big brands repeat for a reason: repetition creates recall. Startups often fear repetition because they’re bored of their own message.

Choose something you can own—sound, rhythm, visual motif, or a consistent opening line—and use it across versions. AI can help generate variants, but you should control the structure.

3) Don’t hide behind “AI-made” as the headline

Audiences don’t buy products because you used AI. They buy because:

• the product solves a problem
• they trust you
• the offer feels worth it

If AI becomes the story, your product becomes the footnote. I’d rather be known for a clear benefit than a clever production method.

“Should my startup use AI to make TV ads?” (quick answers)

When it’s a good idea

It’s a good idea if:

• You’ve got product-market fit signals (repeat purchase, solid reviews)
• Your paid social/search is plateauing because you’ve hit audience fatigue
• Your site converts and your operations can handle demand spikes
• You have enough budget to test and iterate (not just one shot)

When it’s a bad idea

It’s a bad idea if:

• Your messaging is still unclear
• You rely on aggressive claims you can’t substantiate
• Your unit economics are fragile (TV can scale spend faster than you can fix margin)
• You aren’t prepared to measure lift and make changes mid-flight

What to do next if you’re planning an AI-powered brand campaign

Freja Bone Broth’s AI TV ad is a useful reminder for UK startups: channel strategy is shifting, and production constraints are shrinking. The winners won’t be the brands that “try TV.” They’ll be the brands that build a repeatable system for making creative, testing it, and scaling what works.

If you’re running a small team, start with a simple plan: one tight proposition, one measurement approach, and enough creative variations to learn quickly. AI helps you move faster—but only if your foundations (offer, site, proof) are already solid.

Where do you think your business is right now: ready for a broader awareness push, or still needing sharper message-market fit before you spend on reach?

Source: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/freja-bone-broth-launches-tv-ai-ad/1944644