An REI advertisement ran on Instagram for roughly a week in June showing a bicycle with physical impossibilities, including an extra set of handlebars, a misrouted chain, and incorrect brake hardware. The image began as a vendor supplied photograph and was altered by a Meta AI personalization tool before the ad served. The advertisement ran from approximately June 15 to June 22, 2026.
The reaction began in the r/REI community on Reddit, where commenters labeled the output AI slop, and spread to Instagram comment threads and to LinkedIn, where advertising professionals discussed the brand safety implications. At least one commenter identifying as an REI employee cited internal pressure to adopt AI tools.
REI said Meta had automatically enrolled the retailer in the personalization feature. In its statement the company said Meta auto enrolled it in an AI personalization tool that produced an inaccurate and inappropriate alteration of a vendor provided image in some of its ads. REI said it had taken steps to unenroll from the tool, that the outcome did not align with its values or how it manages its brand, that product accuracy and vendor relationships matter, and that it apologized for the confusion the ad caused.
Coverage of the incident focused on the auto enrollment mechanism, which several trade outlets reported many advertisers had not noticed in their Meta account settings. The alteration went unflagged internally for the full week the ad ran before outside comment surfaced it.
Source: Inc. - https://www.inc.com/annabel-burba/an-rei-ad-went-viral-for-all-the-wrong-reasons-the-company-says-meta-ai-is-responsible/91366297