If you’re a creative professional working in advertising or content, you’ve probably heard that AI will take your job. Our Creative and Content Director, Glen Day explains why AI could actually be making creative work what you really always wanted it to be.
Before the internet, the creative team's job was to win the Super Bowl. What that means is that when your ad was showing during the Super Bowl, or World Cup final – or just during a regular commercial break or print ad placement – you were tasked with creating the most memorable ad in that space. It’s that standout kind of piece you need to win at Cannes or D&AD.
This task was challenging.
It was mentally taxing.
It was incredibly competitive.
And most of all, it was fun.
That sort of competitive creativity is what made the ad world legendary. It made heroes of people who sold cereal. It inspired characters like Don Draper. It made generations of writers and art directors flock to various Madison Avenues around the world.
And then came the internet
The internet turned the party of the world’s creative departments into something more akin to a study hall. Instead of trying to win the Super Bowl – making the most memorable ad for everyone you could reach – we were tasked with connecting with exactly the right person at precisely the right time in the decision-making process with the most relevant possible message.
We made white papers speaking to the needs of those looking for the right kind of prism to optimize their dense wavelength division multiplexers. We created landing pages to skillfully connect audiences from the lower funnel to the sales team of a channel partner.
Effective? Yes, and measurably so.
Mad Men-sexy? Not so much.
We saw brilliantly creative talents edged out of the big agency creative departments. People with a stack of Gold Pencils and legendary stories of their trips to Cannes suddenly found themselves making a living selling real estate or behind the wheel of an Uber. Creativity was traded for CTR. Those who could adapt still found joy in their pursuit, but to be sure, they were pursuing something decidedly different.
AI can change that
AI is very good at many of the tasks creative teams are asked to do today. In the hands of a prompt engineer with a depth of marketing knowledge, AI can create all manner of content and ads with the ability to precisely apply phrasing and imagery that will measurably appeal to a very specific audience and help SEO. AI can do this faster for less money, taking this job away from people. But that won’t be the end of the story.
AI will make its own content obsolete
People using all manner of AI systems are about to oversaturate the web with AI-generated content. There will be AI-generated articles, ads, white papers, and even videos everywhere… so many, in fact, that the audience will be overwhelmed to the point where they’re inclined to stop looking at anything AI creates.
While the quality of AI-produced work may never quite measure up to work that’s well crafted by living, breathing professionals, the audience will still have to view the content to see which is which. Many people will just stop looking.
That will bring on the next creative revolution
In the new world oversaturated with what AI has been prompted to generate, genuine creativity and originality will be the difference-makers. Truly creative minds – not just marketers pumping out cheap, repetitive AI content based on yesterday’s standards – will have the opportunity to once again compete in and win the Super Bowl.
Instead of just creating something that says the right thing to the right person at the right time, creatives will once again be challenged to create something singular. Something that stands out from a sea of automated sameness.
We’ve seen this play out before
When the personal computer was first introduced, enabling anyone to set type and do layouts in ways they never could before, many feared that clients would be able to cut out agencies or agencies could cut out their creative departments altogether.
But that didn’t happen. Yes, we did see a lot of awful ads made tactlessly with every font available, but we also saw a renaissance of talented creative people using these new tools to compete and stand out like never before. Just look at the wealth of award-winning typography from the 90s.
And we’ll see that same pattern with AI
While AI in the hands of unoriginal thinkers will create a wasteland of unoriginal pieces, AI in the hands of creative people will create standout pieces no one has ever imagined before. For creative people, this will bring about a process that’s incredibly challenging and rewarding. It will put a new premium on creativity.
Creative will be king.
Yes, creative people should root for AI to come and take their jobs. They should want AI to take over the redundant, formulaic tasks asked of creatives today because that will mean true originality is necessary to stand out. While the disruption will be a challenge, it will bring creativity the greatest value it has seen in years. And creatives (and agencies) that recognize this will thrive in the age of AI.