Midjourney, DALL-E 2, Disco Diffusion. The titles of the latest crop of developing technologies seem like the titles of a science fiction book or the sequel to a sci-fi book. Artificial intelligence (AI) is fast transforming the art world. Not only do creative technologists have some new buzzwords to toss about, such as “multimodal AI” and “neural networks,” but AI is on its way to significantly altering the job we do in marketing, advertising, and agencies.
While I won’t claim to grasp everything, the overall premise is straightforward. The technology’s attractiveness is that it integrates many inputs to make rich visuals. Many of these new platforms accept text input like “Van Gogh Astronaut Drinking Lemonade” and then build a picture using AI. The AI can comprehend the prompt’s content context as well as creative style choices. And with astounding outcomes.
Before all of the art directors reading this give their two weeks’ notice or clients trim their Q4 budgets to depend on AI instead of real creatives for content development, we must recognize the AI-driven advertising revolution for what it is. This is a new creative tool. Our approach to idea generation has always been collaborative. It’s always been about bringing together teams with a wide range of skill sets, expertise, and experiences to come up with surprising solutions.
Another way to put it is: It’s always been about mixing inputs from several sources to get complicated results.
AI is fast establishing itself as a player at the table. However, it is becoming a team member rather than a replacement for team members. AI tools still need to be innovative. It will take a great group of strategists and artists to figure out how to use its amazing power.
So, how does AI-driven advertising appear? In the next year, what role will generative AI art play in our work at agencies?
(1) Conceptualization
To develop ideas more quickly, creative teams will use AI art platforms. Teams may produce additional campaign ideas by inputting questions and creating mood boards.
(2) Proposals for new businesses
Creating spec work for new company proposals may be an expensive endeavor for agencies. If AI technologies can produce visuals near enough to express a concept, teams will be able to complete projects more quickly and at a lower cost.
(3) Increased capability
Illustration and the creation of 3D elements sometimes require the use of specialist software or abilities. Using AI techniques to make building blocks that designers can then use in their final artwork gives them more ways to be creative.
While some agencies have started building and training their own artificially intelligent systems to aid with creative client work, the day when we can make fantastic advertisements at the touch of a button looks to be a long way off. Having said that, technology is progressing at a breakneck speed, and the development of AI-powered advertising may surprise us all. Despite its many outstanding features, I believe customers will request that the AI enlarge the logo.