I’ve only just recently stumbled on this quote. It’s often misattributed to Charles Bukowski (a 1970s dirty realist). It would be the perfect summation of where Adland is right now. But sadly, it’s not true. We advertising bees do waste time explaining. Every day, I have to explain the difference between creative honey and AI shit. Between style and slop. Craft and crap. And often I’m explaining to people who really should know better.
Let me explain.
The single most frequent question I’m asked at the moment is, “Yeah I get that your industry hates AI, but how often are you using it?” I get asked in workshops. I get asked in presentations. I even got asked at a dinner party. The culprits range from grey-haired-advertising-lifers to fresh-faced-high-schoolers.
My answer? Every second day.
On average, every second day I punch up an AI app to find research. Or uncover insights. Or fill in gaps in a patchy brief. I’m using it to short-cut answers to long-winded content. I’m using it when search results are disappointing. But I never, ever use it to write. My headlines are mine and mine alone. Ditto my subheads, my call outs, my posting copy, my call to actions. Because (forgive the momentary lapse into ego), it’s honey versus shit.
So, why has everyone fallen into this confusion? I had two moments of clarity this month which may explain why.
Firstly, 7/10 creative work is too accessible.
I attended some Canva training recently. Its platform does everything you’d expect from a desktop publisher. It houses logos and image libraries. It locks in colours and typefaces. Gives access to templates. But then the trainer stopped me cold when she said, “So, when you’re designing a Facebook tile, or conference banner, or an outdoor ad…”
Wait, what?
I looked around the room and saw 20+ marketers – some super experienced. Not one art director. not one designer. No one who’d studied how to balance images with type. No one who knew how to finetune kerning and leading. In short, left-brain analytical thinkers.
Secondly, clients love to avoid production costs.
I overheard a presentation from a media consultant. She was talking about doing A/B splits of creative placements. All very smart. Then she moved onto producing video via AI and used the term, “Synthetic people”.
Wait what?
Synthetic people? That’s AI generated talent who you can use in multiple shots to tell a story. Nothing real. Weird movement. Dead behind the eyes. Why would you do that? Well, just think about how much cheaper it is to produce and publish. In her words, “Starting with no talent fee”. Forget the quality, look at the price tag.
So, what’s the answer?
All we can do is prove our value through demonstration. A carefully crafted script. A beautifully laid out billboard. Even just a well-worded email. We need to harness the power of demonstration (for as long as it lasts). And keep pointing to results. If AI doesn’t connect as well with audiences (and it doesn’t) then remind clients.
For the moment, there’s still money in honey.
Rob Morrison is a rarity in advertising – a grey-haired working creative. His consultancy, ‘morro’, is dedicated to curing businesses laryngitis. Giving companies back their human voice.
Here are two more opinion pieces from Rob Morrison:
