Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most popular girl in school, and you either hate her, love her, fear her, or want to be her. So let’s gossip about AI, its powers and weaknesses, and whether or not this b*tch will steal your job as a creative in advertising.

A few weeks ago, San Francisco-based advertising agency Pereira O’Dell and the agency’s AI lab, Silverside, reimagined the iconic 1995 Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan spot using Gen AI. Immediately after it came out, the advertising and marketing world exploded. Blood and guts everywhere. The AI-generated spot stirred up loads of reactions. Some people shared excitement and curiosity. Others, frustration, confusion, and fear. Throughout the years, Coca-Cola has fostered the beauty of human connection, deriving insights from truths consumers can relate to. With campaigns like “Share a Coke” and “Taste the Feeling,” the brand has established itself as more than a product, but a part of its consumer’s lives. That might be the reason everyone seems to have an opinion about this particular spot. But here’s the kicker; that’s the point!

Many professionals in our industry believe it was a calculated PR move to get people talking, rather than a targeted hit on the living, breathing humans that make beautiful commercials for a living. Others, including a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, alluded to the spot remake being an A/B test, saying, “We are always exploring new ways to connect with consumers and experiment with different approaches. This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative AI.” In an age where technology, content, and information are constantly at our fingertips, it’s important for brands to toy with what works and what doesn’t with consumers. For Coca-Cola, they learned exactly what they needed to: the majority of consumers do not resonate with AI-generated creative advertising. And that’s a good thing, right? It doesn’t necessarily mean that big brands like Coca-Cola are going to nix their creative jobs for humans anytime soon. Knowing that AI, an already widely feared new technology, was tapped to create the spot likely threw people off, because it was off-kilter to what they believe Coca-Cola has done so well in the past – connecting to their consumers through insights rooted in human truths.

Now, let’s talk about this pesky potential job thief. Will AI steal your job? Hopefully not. Humans fear sharks, but sharks don’t threaten to take your job. They don’t even have hands. AI has the capacity and smarts to do many things, but one thing is clear: it will never be distinctly and uniquely human, regardless of how much it’s trained. AI platforms like ChatGPT and Midjourney need a human copywriter or art director’s touch through informative prompts. Even reading through Pereira O'Dell’s explanation of the creation of the AI spot, Silverside AI’s team of Art Directors, Artists, Designers, Animators, and Musicians all worked together to make the spot. AI isn’t always as simple as pressing a magical button.

The problem many creatives in this industry face is company leadership. Using AI is a hell of a lot cheaper than paying for worthy talent, straight up. With many corporate leaders, saving money is a huge factor of their job. Unfortunately, at a certain point, there will be companies disregarding the humans in the creative field and tapping the neighborhood bot. The good news is, it’s their loss. Consumers aren’t dumb. It takes a special je ne sais quoi to develop an ad that doesn’t really look or feel like an ad. There’s so much beauty in human creativity, and consumers (as we’ve seen with the Coca-Cola Holiday Remake) are not afraid to call bullsh*t when they see it. This will ultimately affect brand perception if companies are trying to play the long game.

So do you fear her, love her, or want to be her? The correct answer is all three. It’s valid to fear new technology and its powers. Robots have sadly already taken the jobs of many. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.” He’s right! The more we embrace and show love to the new technology that will inevitably become a part of day-to-day life, the less we fear it. We begin to understand it. We learn to control it, harness its intelligence for our greater benefit. AI is a wonderful tool that should be used by creatives, rather than be celebrated as a creative on its own. Learn how to love and work with technology. Adapt and embrace the change, otherwise, you’re not as valuable in the workplace. Finally, you don’t just want to be her; you want to be better.

A fun little game to play as a copywriter is to feed ChatGPT a prompt to write headlines, taglines, or scripts for a specific campaign. You’ll likely end up with a bunch of ad-speak, nausea-inducing rubbish. Look at that as your starting point, and then beat every single response with your own wit. Give the words humanity, feeling, emotion, humor. Sure, AI will be limitless at a certain point, but the human brain is limitless-er.

Being a creative person also means being a constant student. You should be learning something new every day. After all, that’s what AI does. Speaking of being a student, if you’re interested in diving into the creative advertising field, check out book180. It’s a 6-month online portfolio school that has helped over 75 aspiring art directors and copywriters break into this niche. Whether you want to build a standout student portfolio or sharpen your creative skills, book180’s online, 6-month approach will guide you in creating work that gets noticed by top-tier agencies.

Just think about it… if the world goes to hell and we lose electricity, the robots can’t work, meaning there will be more work for creative minds like yours to take on. Wink wink.

This blog post was written by book180 Instructor Taylor Smith, freelance Senior Copywriter in Austin, TX.