The current cultural obsession with all things AI may have caused a boomerang effect\u2014a true appreciation for something real.<\/p>\n
Filmmakers Luke Barnett and Noam Kroll recognized it last month when they rolled out a spec ad for Pepsi. The spot, which they initially shared on X shortly after Coca-Cola released its second AI-generated holiday ad and was reshared this week after McDonald\u2019s Netherlands unveiled its own controversial AI-generated holiday spot. It serves as a meta commentary on the questionable realism of commercials today: The camera slowly pushes in on Barnett, who wonders to someone on the other end of a phone call whether or not he\u2019s real\u2014before taking a sip of a very-real Pepsi. Over the course of 60 seconds, he says the word \u201creal\u201d six times, driving the point home.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause AI has dominated so much of the conversation in recent months, for better or worse, it\u2019s definitely made audiences and industry people more excited about anything practical, anything real,\u201d Barnett, whose spec has attracted more than 332,000 views on X, told Marketing Brew. \u201cIf anything, the rise in people trying out AI for commercials has just made people more excited for reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Barnett\u2019s Pepsi ad is just a spec, brands like Apple and A24 are officially leaning into the idea of showing off what\u2019s real, releasing behind-the-scenes videos that give viewers a look into what it takes to make everything from a logo, in the case of Apple TV\u2019s new logo created with practical effects, or a movie promotion, like Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s marketing prowess powering the rollout of Josh Safdie\u2019s biopic Marty Supreme<\/em>.<\/p>\n Behind-the-scenes or meta spots aren\u2019t the only ways realism is showing up in marketing. In July, Polaroid pitched its Flip camera and the real world as an antidote to digital overload with out-of-home ads that earned a spot on AdAge\u2019s best ads of the year list. Meanwhile, some brands are clowning on others that are leaning hard into AI: In October, Heineken released a cheeky billboard response to AI company Friend, whose own consistently defaced out-of-home ads pitching the wearable as a replacement for real-world relationships. (\u201cThe best way to make a friend <\/em>is over a beer,\u201d Heineken\u2019s ad read.) In a somewhat similar vein, the beer brand took New York Knicks guard Josh Hart\u2019s group chat offline and into the real world with a real bar to host the group of friends in an activation that also became a commercial.<\/p>\n However they can, marketers are finding ways to nod to the public\u2019s desire for reality checks, which some experts say could help them stand out with consumers searching for authenticity.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an increasingly more digital, artificial world\u2026humans are gravitating more to that human connection,\u201d Eunice Shin, founder and CEO of brand consultancy The Elume Group, told Marketing Brew.<\/p>\n Marketers will likely need to acknowledge what\u2019s real and what\u2019s AI-created as the use of AI in marketing and advertising continues to proliferate. While some marketers use AI imagery proudly and openly, other brands have rolled out AI imagery without much fanfare until eagle-eyed observers catch on. In both cases, a brand\u2019s use of AI can be a point of contention, to say the least; per NIQ research, consumers see AI-made ads as more \u201cboring,\u201d \u201cannoying,\u201d and \u201cconfusing\u201d than ads made without AI.<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Shin said marketers\u2019 and artists\u2019 efforts to spell out their real-life efforts make sense given the current climate around AI usage combined with brands\u2019 enduring efforts to differentiate themselves from their peers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe backlash to AI slop and the fact that it\u2019s become a known term is pretty significant,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause of that, and because of how bad some of this stuff is, artists have become even more [dug] into like, how can we do things [differently]?\u201d<\/p>\n While some brands may want to show off the power of their AI tools, using AI in the end product of an ad may be antithetical to other brands whose value propositions are centered on real-life connection and quality. <\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about the use of AI in production, for example, and creating things, and we would have a point of view that you would never go all the way to creating a person that doesn\u2019t exist in real life,\u201d Ali Payne, CMO of Heineken USA, said. \u201cReal interaction is important\u2014therefore, who we show in our content has to be real.\u201d<\/p>\n How does a brand develop a point of view on when and where to use AI, or how to communicate it? Some professional best practices exist, but there are no set guidelines, and as consumers are increasingly exposed to unlabeled AI slop, some marketers note the value in being upfront about their use of AI or their decision not to use it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people start to question whether something\u2019s real or not, it\u2019s adding even deeper confusion to the whole marketing [community],\u201d Payne said. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s going to be important for brands to really reflect what\u2019s real and authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n For marketers and artists, showing not only that they\u2019re making stuff in the real world practically rather than digitally is certainly getting people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n Take Apple\u2019s \u201chandcrafted\u201d holiday ad, which, since it was released late last month, has attracted more than 15 million views on YouTube. In the spot, puppet animals find a dropped iPhone and record a music video on the device before retreating into the woods. And yes, there\u2019s a behind-the-scenes video showing how the ad was made in all of its human-powered glory.<\/p>\n That handcrafted differentiation may benefit brands even if it isn\u2019t coming directly from the official brand account itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most surprising part, too, is, I didn\u2019t expect it to actually work [as an ad],\u201d Kroll said of his spec Pepsi ad. \u201cI thought it would work as a funny jokey thing on the internet\u2026[but] I saw multiple people comment after and say, \u2018I don\u2019t even like Pepsi, but I actually went out and bought a Pepsi today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAre you real?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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