Deciding what to automate is just as important as deciding what not to automate. That’s exactly what Asaf Yanai, co-founder and CEO at AI creative workflow platform Alison.ai believes. In this guest article, Yanai shares some examples of when AI-generated ads have fallen flat, and suggests this is primarily because advertisers aren’t choosing the best moments to optimise.
Artificial intelligence isn’t just crunching numbers in the background of advertising anymore. Today’s advertising ecosystem is turning to AI to hone ideas, build creative assets, and even steer entire campaigns. When used well, AI helps us deliver sharper, more relevant advertising than ever. When it’s not, it can cause us to fall flat.
Consider Coca-Cola’s 2024 holiday campaign. The company used GenAI to reimagine its iconic “Holidays Are Coming” ad – aiming for a fresh take on a classic. What they got, by some accounts, was emotionally barren eye candy. We’re learning that while AI can scale and remix familiar imagery, it’s still the human touch that makes a campaign stick.
As someone who works at the intersection of AI and marketing, I get to see both the power and the limits of this technology up close and personal. And I’ve learned that reality is both messier and more promising than the headlines make it seem. The conversation about AI in advertising is too often reduced to extremes: either it’s the future of everything, or it’s the end of creativity as we know it.
The truth is a lot more interesting – and a lot more human. In this article, I’ll explore where AI is pushing advertising forward, where it’s holding it back, and why the teams who master both sides will come out ahead.
The False Binary: Human vs. Machine
Until recently, most of our ideas about AI came from dystopian stories like The Terminator and The Matrix. So, it’s no surprise that we tend to frame the conversation around AI in advertising (and everywhere else) as a battle: humans versus machines. But that framing misses the point. It’s not a war – it’s symbiosis. It’s not about replacing creative teams with algorithms, it’s about extending what teams can do.
The best campaigns still start with intuition, empathy, and taste – things no machine can yet replicate. True, AI tools can surface insights faster, suggest variations, or automate production. But the original spark – the emotional core of a great idea – still comes from people.
Once we shift from seeing AI as a threat to seeing it as a co-pilot, we can start enjoying the best of both worlds. We can work smarter, move faster, and still create work that feels real. But that balance isn’t automatic.
Data-driven creative intelligence can help teams strike that balance. By analysing patterns from high-performing ads across industries, for example, AI can offer surprising insights during the early ideation phase. This helps creative teams tap into what moves audiences emotionally, without constraining originality.
When Performance Becomes a Trap
AI makes it easier than ever to optimise every click, view, and share. But too many brands are falling into the trap of sacrificing brand building on the altar of easy metrics wins. When campaigns chase short-term numbers, they often lose what matters most: originality, emotion, meaning.
We see this in templated social ads, cookie cutter emails and endless lookalike campaigns. Tools like Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max are powerful – but many brands are learning the hard way that optimisation alone can’t build real loyalty. For example:
Google’s “Dear Sydney” ad – Although conceived to showcase personalised storytelling with AI, this ad totally backfired. What was supposed to be heartfelt came off as scripted and hollow.
Skechers’ AI-generated Vogue ad – The company aimed at blending fashion and tech, but audiences immediately called out the slick visuals that lacked authenticity.
Toys “R” Us’ AI-generated ad – The brand tried to use AI to tell its origin story, but instead of warm nostalgia they delivered cold, generic, and forgettable.
The challenge isn’t using AI to optimise — it’s choosing what you optimise for. Metrics like emotional resonance, brand sentiment, and narrative strength are harder to measure than clicks or shares — but they’re far more important for lasting brand health. Data-driven creative intelligence can help keep the focus where it belongs: on building meaning, not just velocity.
The moral of the story is that performance metrics matter, but they’re not the whole story. AI can help us work faster and smarter, but it’s only powerful when it amplifies strong ideas, not replaces them.
When AI Works Best: Quietly Behind the Scenes
The strongest campaigns don’t scream “made by AI.” They just work better – more relevant, better timed, and better crafted. The best results happen when the tech stays in its lane instead of trying to steal the spotlight. For example:
Microsoft’s recent ad for its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop was partially generated using AI, yet viewers remained unaware. The Microsoft team used AI for scripting, storyboarding, and visual generation – saving an incredible 90 percent in time and cost without compromising quality.
Coca-Cola’s AI-powered “Create Real Magic” initiative didn’t make AI the centre-piece. Rather, it gave users access to Coca-Cola’s brand assets and AI-powered creative tools – giving them creative superpowers while keeping the focus on human imagination.
Nutella’s Unica campaign quietly used AI to design seven million one-of-a-kind jars – with the aim of creating an emotional connection around exclusivity. The results? They sold out the entire collection – all without making the technology the focus.
Ferrara’s Laffy Taffy campaign used AI to tweak tone, visuals, and copy across platforms – helping the team sharpen creative direction, speed up production, and drive stronger engagement.
What these campaigns have in common is smarter creative development powered by data. Whether helping teams storyboard, refine visual elements, or personalise experiences at scale, AI worked behind the scenes to sharpen human creativity without stealing the spotlight.
Where We Go from Here
AI isn’t just changing how ads get made – it’s changing what creative leadership looks like. The best marketers won’t be the ones who can execute faster. They’ll be the ones who know how to set the vision, define the guardrails, and decide what (and what not) to automate.
In the AI era, great marketers will look less like builders and more like directors: guiding big creative gambles, shaping emotional resonance, making judgment calls. Prompting well, curating wisely, protecting the moments that need a human hand – these will be the new essential skills.
The next wave of brand-building won’t be about squeezing more efficiency out of old models. It’ll be about designing creative systems that can adapt, surprise, and move people in ways algorithms alone never could.
The future isn’t human versus machine. It’s human leadership – powered by machine capability – pushing creativity somewhere new.
