HallPass candy's AI typos were deliberate rage bait, says founder

When errors are discovered in product imagery, most companies are quick to claim that AI wasn't involved in their creation. But the numerous AI-generated typos in the promotional images for HallPass candy bars weren't a mistake — they were deliberately included to generate "internet rage bait," according to the company's president.

The three low-calorie HallPass bars, each containing 70 calories per package and just 1 gram of sugar, will arrive on Walmart shelves nationwide on August 29. They are the creation of Peter Rahal, cofounder of David Protein and RxBar, and Michael Tierney, founder of Stuffed Puffs.

Ahead of that launch, HallPass was unveiled to the public on Monday — and it initially looked like a disaster. Images of the packaging featured several typos and garbled text, the kind of output typically seen when AI gets things wrong. Examples include the word "water" being used instead of "wafer," along with "suger" and "pacaage." There are also instances of words blended together so they become illegible.

As expected, plenty of people jumped on the errors, calling for stricter quality checks in an age where AI is widely used for content creation. But the whole thing wasn't a colossal screw-up.

Speaking to Business Insider two days later, Tierney said the mistakes were intentional. He explained that while HallPass did have individual images of the three bars, there were no pictures of them all together, so AI was used to combine the images. The final result definitely fell into the category of AI slop.

"We left them there for a little bit of internet rage bait," Tierney said. He added that the company anticipated the backlash and saw it as a way to generate attention ahead of the retail launch. The strategy appears to have worked, as the typos sparked widespread discussion across social media platforms, with many users sharing screenshots of the flawed packaging.

Despite the controversy, the product itself is positioned as a healthier alternative in the candy aisle, with its low calorie and sugar counts appealing to consumers looking for indulgent yet guilt-free snacks. The intentional inclusion of AI errors has also sparked a broader conversation about the role of artificial intelligence in marketing and whether such tactics are acceptable or merely a cynical way to exploit public outrage for free publicity.