Artificial intelligence is becoming a powerful force in the advertising sector, prompting creative agencies to rethink their strategies and offerings. Leaders from notable firms are embracing these advances, using automation not as a threat but as a way to deliver bolder pitches and diversify the types of work they take on.
Elena Knox at BBDO New York explained that AI streamlines pitching ambitious ideas to clients that previously would have been time-consuming or even impossible to visualize. Her team recently leveraged new tools to craft a vivid, animated scene for a client, resulting in significant production investments abroad after an instant demo delivered a clear vision.
Instead of exhaustive presentations and multiple test demos, AI-driven voice generation now allows Knox’s group to exhibit the value of celebrity endorsements by bringing audio samples directly into client meetings. This kind of experience speaks for itself, letting decision-makers immediately grasp the impact of a campaign direction.
New Creative Opportunities and Faster Campaigns
BETC took a different approach amid shrinking budgets for Woolite’s French relaunch, creating a unique character called the Fluffy GOAT with AI, sidestepping the need for celebrity appearances. This campaign, featuring the goat in extravagant settings, came together much faster than traditional shoots, condensing several months of production into just six weeks.
Reflecting on earlier industry disruptions, BETC’s creative head Alasdhair Macgregor Hastie likened worries about AI to those that surfaced when image editing software arrived. He stressed that adapting to new technology is not optional, drawing parallels to how Photoshop became an everyday design tool rather than a job eliminator.
Calculation and compensation in the agency world are also evolving as automation compresses timelines and output grows. According to S4 Capital’s Martin Sorrell, some companies are choosing new payment models, focusing more on project outcomes than staffing hours, in recognition of AI in advertising industry.
Concerns linger over how younger talent will develop in a world where entry-level duties are increasingly automated. The path for newcomers may require agencies to reshape mentorship and hands-on learning opportunities to fit this new landscape.
At TBWA, Eric Wegerbauer highlighted another AI-driven advantage: the ability to offer services like hyper-customized content for campaigns, something never feasible in the past. His team recently secured a major project centered on tailoring ads to individual users at a scale that would have been impractical without current AI tools, a testament to how creative agencies use AI.
