Machina launches with AI TV spot and new director division

Michael Pierce and Bernadette Abasta have launched Machina, a growth advisory aimed at bridging the gap between brands, internal marketing teams and media agencies. The Hollywood-based firm is debuting with an AI-built Latham Pool commercial and a new AI directors division, RogerRoger, for TV, film and episodic production. Why it matters: - Machina is targeting a core pain point in performance marketing: brands that want measurable TV and CTV returns but lack an independent partner to align creative, media strategy and growth. - The launch signals a broader shift in production, where AI can extend the life of archived footage and create new commercial content without a full reshoot. - RogerRoger gives Machina a way to move beyond advisory work and into AI-enabled production across advertising and entertainment. What happened: - Michael Pierce and Bernadette Abasta launched Machina, a marketing advisory based in Hollywood. - Machina is designed to work across creative, media strategy, growth and performance marketing. - The firm says its role is to stay free of agency allegiances and focus only on client outcomes. - Machina debuted with a new TV commercial for Latham Pool built from footage originally captured in 2020. - Machina also announced RogerRoger, an AI directors division for TV commercials, feature films and episodic content. - RogerRoger is in partnership with feature film executive Guy Stodel. The details: - The Latham Pool spot used AI to create an opening sequence set in and around an airport. - The production used AI-generated versions of the original cast from the 2020 shoot. - Machina built the new narrative around footage that already existed rather than starting with a fresh production. - RogerRoger will operate as a production studio for the AI era from Machina’s full-service post facility in Hollywood. - The division will work across spots, feature-length narrative film and serialized episodic content. - Stodel has worked at Lionsgate, New Line Cinema, Paramount Vantage and Vendôme Pictures. - Stodel has produced projects for Sony Classics, Peacock Television, Netflix and Focus/Universal. - Michael Pierce said Machina is “not experimenting with AI” but making work with it. - Bernadette Abasta said the company was created to close the gap between strategic clarity and execution. - The RogerRoger name comes from radio shorthand for “received and understood.” Between the lines: - Machina is positioning AI as a practical production tool, not a novelty, by tying the launch to an actual commercial rather than a concept reel. - The Latham Pool project is also a proof point for repurposing older footage, which could lower production costs and speed up campaign turnaround. - By adding RogerRoger, Machina is trying to control more of the workflow from strategy through postproduction. - The partnership with Stodel adds traditional film and studio experience to an AI-forward pitch. What’s next: - Machina is likely to use RogerRoger to pursue more commercial, film and episodic projects built with AI production tools. - The Latham Pool campaign will serve as the company’s public example of how archived footage can be turned into new advertising. - Machina’s broader pitch will now be tested by whether brands want an independent advisory that also brings in-house AI production capability. - More information is available in the company’s announcement.