The Emperor's New AI
Look, we need to talk about something that's been making my coffee taste bitter lately: these slick new AI-generated commercials that keep floating across our screens. To most folks scrolling through their feeds, they probably look spectacular. Perfect, even. But that's exactly the problem.
The Technical Bits (Because We're All Nerds Here)
Let me pull back the curtain for a moment. Having spent years in the trenches of digital filmmaking, I can break down exactly how these AI commercials come together. It's like a digital assembly line: First, you generate your storyboard stills using either Midjourney or Stable Diffusion with Flux (the rebellious open-source option that lets you sidestep those pesky censorship guardrails). Then you feed these pristine images to video platforms like Runway or Luma, sprinkle in some prompts about movement and camera work, and let the algorithms do their dance.
Most of what comes out is pure digital garbage, but cherry-pick the good bits, stitch them together, and voilà – you've got yourself an AI-generated commercial that looks like it cost millions but probably set you back less than your monthly coffee budget.
Beautiful Ugliness
Here's where it gets juicy. Art – the kind that makes your stomach flip and your brain tingle – needs friction. It's where the magic happens. And this is precisely what our AI-generated masterpieces are missing.
Let me give you a concrete example: Steve McCurry's famous "Afghan Girl" portrait. Those piercing green eyes aren't striking because they're perfectly rendered (though they are). They're striking because they're set in a face that's seen things we can't imagine. The beauty exists in tension with reality.
by Steve McCurry
The Morning After (Why AI Advertising Feels Like a One-Night Stand)
Working in film and advertising for over a decade, I've learned something crucial: the best work has morning breath. It's got stubble, eye bags, and coffee stains on its shirt. It's that car commercial where you can taste the dust from the South African desert, where the actor's smile has a hint of sadness because their dog died the week before shooting.
But AI? It's all smooth surfaces and perfect smiles. There's no heartbeat, no pulse, no morning breath. It's the uncanny valley doing the cha-cha with your brand values.
To every brand manager reading this: demand more from your agencies than this digital equivalent of a smile painted on a mannequin. I don't care if AI is cheaper than craft services on a shoot – we can feel the difference. Your audience can tell the difference.
Yes, your focus groups might tick those boxes saying it gives them "positive vibes," but when was the last time an AI-generated image made you feel anything deeper than "huh, neat"?
How to Use AI Without Losing Your Soul
Look, I'm not some luddite screaming at render farms. Hell, I've spent my career pushing the boundaries of what's possible with technology in storytelling. But if we're going to use these new tools, let's use them to enhance human creativity, not replace it with the digital equivalent of hotel art.
Let's create advertising that acknowledges life isn't perfect, that sometimes your hair looks like it's been styled by a tornado, that sometimes the best moments happen when everything's gone slightly wrong. Because that's what makes us human, and last time I checked, that's who we're trying to connect with.
Remember: Just because you can make something look perfect, doesn't mean you should. Sometimes the most beautiful things are beautiful precisely because they're not.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go write a strongly worded letter to someone about this. Probably in crayon, just to make a point about authentic human expression.
When was the last time an advertisement actually made you feel something? Not just "oh, that's nice" or "pretty cool tech" - but actually feel something? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.*
