Will 2025 be the year of AI-generated advertising?

The release of AI video generators like Luma AI, SORA and Runway has opened up new possibilities for creators, enabling experimentation with ads, films and music videos like never before.

Major brands have already ventured into this space. Coca-Cola released its first AI-generated Christmas ad this year, while fashion retailer Mango has incorporated AI into its recent campaigns.

“2023 was a year of exploration; 2024 is the year of action,” says Cyril Foiret, founder of Maison Meta, a generative AI studio that has trained creative teams from fashion giants like Victoria’s Secret, Zara and Mango. Over the past few years, AI-generated content has become increasingly normalized among customers Foiret says, particularly in e-commerce, where brands are eager to accelerate their workflows.

But not everyone is enthusiastic. Coca-Cola’s AI take on its classic 1995 spot, “Holidays Are Coming,” received mixed reactions, especially from artists and creative professionals. Jason Zada, a Bay Area creative director who specializes in AI filmmaking and founded Secret Level, one of the three studios behind the Coca-Cola ad, acknowledges the resistance, as some people believe that AI will ultimately erode jobs.

But he also believes AI is inevitable. “Things are happening, whether or not people like it,” he says.

Earlier this year, IBM explored AI for a watsonx campaign,  which tackled themes of AI trust in content creation. The campaign featured surreal “fishy AI” visuals, including imaginary animals like a hamster-fish, and was created with the assistance of Adobe Firefly.

“Our team was able to prompt Firefly to create a fish that looked like a hamster, and they achieved it in hours instead of days or weeks,” says Joe Prota, a Director of Brand Marketing at IBM.

While the final campaign visuals—displayed prominently on the exterior of the Las Vegas Sphere—weren’t AI-generated, Prota says the tools helped with the brainstorming phase.

“It really helped improve the quality of everything,” he says. “I see it as a valuable tool for creative exploration—getting to that big idea faster and ensuring clarity between all the parties involved. It’s going to make creative development quicker and unlock new possibilities.”

However, Prota still emphasizes the importance of human oversight in creative campaigns. “With content like emails and social media posts, AI can generate multiple versions effectively,” he says. “But for larger campaigns, human input remains critical.”

AI creative consultant Claire Xue, who has worked with LVMH and Sephora, points out that not every brand is ready for consumer-facing AI campaigns. “We’re seeing pushback, especially from bigger companies, over concerns about maintaining brand standards and avoiding public backlash or intellectual property issues,” she says.

Internally, though, AI-generated content is becoming a staple in creative briefs. Montreal-based visual artist and commercial director Julien Vallée notes that he has seen a rise in briefing documents that include AI-generated visuals. “Most briefs we get from agencies now come with a clear vision created using tools like Midjourney,” he says.

Over his two-decade career, Vallée has collaborated with companies like Apple, Samsung and Coach. While he appreciates the efficiency AI brings, he warns of the expectations it creates. “AI-generated content can lead to unrealistic expectations, he says. “There’s a lot of education happening between clients and agencies. Doing it in real life isn’t the same as virtual.”

For some artists, tools like ComfyUI offer greater control over AI inputs and outputs. “The first thing I learned about these tools is that they’re black boxes created by someone else,” says Fillip Isgro, an artist and machine learning researcher at iKHOR Labs, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in AI-powered animation and post-production tools. “To use them effectively, you have to speak their language.” Isgro believes AI’s ability to generate visuals is making practices like storyboarding obsolete. “AI allows the non-creative to map out these more utilitarian assets and images. The result is that being a generalist isn't really good anymore.” This shift can be nerve-wracking for creatives who might worry about their roles being replaced by AI—but others see their ability to harness AI in their work as a strength. In Canada, director Blair Vermette turned his anxiety into experimentation, creating a speculative AI-driven ad for Adidas. The ad went viral on LinkedIn, garnering recognition and attention from companies like Puma, Red Bull and Def Jam.

“That experience marked a ‘before and after Adidas’ moment in my life,” Vermette says. “I went from struggling to having major brands reaching out to work with me.”

Despite the attention, Vermette says that Adidas never responded. Vermette has since launched RabbitHole, his own AI-focused advertising company.

Prota, for his part, sees endless possibilities for AI in advertising, particularly in versioning and personalization. “If I make a film for watsonx, I’d love to use AI to tailor versions of the film for different audiences—developers, line-of-business professionals or C-suite executives,” he says. “AI could help refine the messaging for each group, making it faster and more scalable.”