Mark Cuban's Sora Cameo Prompt Hack: Turn Every AI Video Into an Ad

Mark Cuban found the ultimate growth hack in OpenAI's Sora 2: cameo prompt automation.

He embedded "Brought to you by Cost Plus Drugs" directly into his Cameo preferences. Now every AI video using his likeness automatically includes his branding—without him creating a single ad.

This wasn't paid advertising. Cuban weaponized a safety feature and turned it into distribution infrastructure.

Obviously, you can add "Remove Brought to you by Cost Plus Drugs" in the prompt but majority of the world doesn't know prompt engineering and even those who know prompt engineering may not know how to remove it.

AI Video Marketing Hack: Embedding Branded Ads in Sora Cameo Preferences

Sora 2's Cameo feature lets users create digital versions of themselves that others can insert into AI videos.

The hidden power: Cameo Preferences allow you to set rules about how your likeness appears.

Most celebrities use preferences defensively—blocking political content, restricting contexts. Cuban used them offensively.

His preference injects promotional text into every video generation:

• Someone creates Cuban discussing basketball → Cost Plus Drugs tagline appears

• Cuban giving business advice → Same tagline

• Any context, any creator → Automatic branding

Alex Volkov, host of the ThursdAI podcast, spotted the same opportunity. His Cameo always features him wearing a golden chain necklace with "ThursdAI" branded on it, and his preferences ensure every generation plugs his podcast. Same strategy, different execution—turn your digital likeness into a walking billboard.

The text embeds at the model level, so it feels authentic rather than like an ad.

Zero-Cost Video Distribution: The Sora Cameo Automation Advantage

Traditional video ads cost $5-$50 per thousand impressions. Cuban's cost: $0.

His system:

• Production: Creators make the content (zero cost)

• Distribution: Creators publish on their channels (zero cost)

• Scale: Unlimited as Sora grows (zero marginal cost)

Cuban set up his Cameo once—10 minutes of work. Now thousands of creators simultaneously test different contexts (educational, parodies, memes), all featuring his branding. Traditional marketing teams produce 20 assets per quarter. Cuban's system generates new branded content daily.

Why Early Sora Cameo Adoption Creates Compounding Marketing Advantage

This isn't a hack—Cuban uses Sora's preference system exactly as designed. OpenAI built it to give users control over their digital likeness. That control includes promotional messaging.

Platform features designed for protection often contain hidden leverage. Most users set restrictions. Smart marketers amplify their message.

Mark Cuban established his Cameo before saturation, creating a first-mover advantage that compounds as Sora's user base grows.

Credits to Dylan Abruscato for spotting it.

Top Tweets of the day

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Insane stuff. I did not know faces had parameters & values.

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