AI is Reshaping Our Industry - Whether We Like It or Not

I must admit, I’m on the fence about AI in video commercials. A strong part of me believes it’s impure and inauthentic, but maybe it’s just because I can spot an AI video more easily than people not in this industry. At the same breath, I’m also blown away by the technology and some of the videos I have seen. So is AI going to completely disrupt our industry, or is it going to be a handy partner helping our workflow? In truth I think it’s going to be both. The purist in me wants to believe that real video is going to live forever. But that’s exactly what Kodak thought at the start of the digital film and photography era too. People still shoot on film today… But ask any producer, and they will tell you how incredibly expensive and impractical it is. So what actual argument is there to suggest that video commercials won’t go this way as well?

For me, the strongest argument is that as marketers, we create our brands to be relatable and identifiable to our consumers. We create ads that portray the lifestyle we believe our product/service will help you ascertain. It’s aspirational. We want people to resonate with our brands. Can we truly do that with AI? Will consumers see through it, or will they not care? There can be absolutely no doubt that we are about to see a bombardment of AI-generated ads from smaller businesses trying to get their name out there. Whereas before they couldn’t afford the costs of a high-end TVC, they can now create content for a couple of thousand rands depending on how good their prompting is.

But what about the big brands? The ones who traditionally spend millions on video every year. Will they go this route too? Every company is different, but I think deep inside the marketers and creatives wouldn’t want to. But will their hand be forced? AI isn’t only affecting the creative industry. There’ve been massive developments in just about every sector of the economy, and the need for actual people in these jobs is getting less and less. This will result in less employment; less employment means less expendable income, and less income means less budget for companies to create marketing campaigns. So what do you do then? Continue to spend millions in an economy that’s having to rebuild itself or save that money and put out AI-generated ads instead?