AI in advertising - What Gen Zers and others are saying
Ad Age asked Jon, Ashi Bhat, Jeff Rosenblum, José Manuel Simián and Neal Sivadas for their views on AI in advertising. How will it impact careers, perpetuate bias and the value of AI-generated ‘hallucinations’? What are your thoughts for the industry?
(A 3-minute read with a flat white and ginger snap)
For many, the arrival of AI conjures up fears of loss—of human value, of privacy and of their very careers. The technology has also produced results that are as biased as the data on which it trains. Others are enthusiastically adopting AI to gain deep insights into data, speed up complex tasks and level the playing field for individuals of different abilities. Here are six takes on AI from recent Ad Age contributor essays:
HOW AI CAN BOOST GEN Z SALES AND LOYALTY
“Marketers should use AI to segment Gen Zers based on shared values and character traits. As systems learn about a company’s products and customers, they’ll be able to predict behaviors, anticipate customer needs and tailor ads to individuals.
Brands can also use AI to invite participation in product innovation and content creation, such as Coca-Cola’s “Create Real Magic” contest, which allowed customers to create digital art on the brand’s AI platform and submit work to be featured in future campaigns.
AI can also help brands cost-effectively embrace inclusive representation, such as Levi’s AI-generated clothing models, allowing customers to view clothing on a multitude of models spanning body types, ages and skin tones.”
— Ashi Bhat, Gen Z marketer, TEDx speaker and founder of Insider, a blockchain-powered loyalty platform for consumer brands
AI EMPOWERS CONSUMERS, TOO
“We can no longer use clever advertising to cover up challenges in our customers’ journeys. Consumer AI technology will use every click, engagement, rating, review, purchase and return to help shoppers invest time, attention and money as wisely as possible. Every moment of friction—complicated websites, lame creative, frustrating customer service—will feed an AI-charged algorithm that will dispense extraordinarily personalized recommendations.
As a result, brands should focus on empowering their audience, investing in:
Better customer service delivered by real humans
Better communities to help consumers with their life journeys
Better content to help customers with their purchase journeys
Better products to help people invest their hard-earned dollars more effectively”
— Jeff Rosenblum, a founding partner of Questus and author of Friction and Exponential.Specific
ATTUNE YOUR TEAM TO GENERATIVE AI BIAS
“Latinos bring a variety of identities, voices, dialects, slangs and languages to the table … the lived experiences of people hailing from more than 20 countries.
But large language models create biased results because of biases in datasets on which the models train. So, it’s a good idea to have Latinos represented on the creative and strategic teams crafting the communication. We must acknowledge that the risk of having a message about and for Latinos land flat—or be flat-out incorrect—has increased substantially in the generative AI era. Attuning your teams to bias in generative AI results is not a step best left for final QA. It has to be part of the project kick-off.”
—José Simián, a content strategist at Huge
NEW TOOLS WILL COMPLEMENT THE OLD
“As powerful as it may seem, AI isn’t coming for our jobs. AI can create, but it is not creative. GPT is derivative by nature; it’s only as good as the data it’s fed. When AI generates creative output, it simply regurgitates past ideas in new ways. It will always lack the expressive self-awareness of humans to invent. New tools will complement the old. Our phones can shoot high-quality video now, but that doesn’t make all of us Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has innate traits we cannot replicate, just as humans have traits machines can’t. But has this technology encouraged new methods of filmmaking and inspired more people to try it? Absolutely.”
— Neal Sivadas, a Gen Z TikTok product marketing manager, LinkedIn Top Voice and speaker on Gen Z marketing
AI HALLUCINATIONS ARE DREAM OPPORTUNITY
“Contrary to popular belief, AI-generated hallucinations— when AI passes off fabricated information as fact—are not going to be anyone’s downfall and are not something to fear. In fact, they could become something of a dream opportunity for marketers—offering unique and unexpected combinations that can drive creativity in new and unthought-of ways. Isn't that just what a creative spark is? Hallucinations could be perfect for identifying, exploring and manipulating brands as a concept. By experimenting with AI-generated content, you can tap into fresh ideas and engage customers in innovative ways.”
— Jon Williams, CEO and founder of The Liberty Guild
AI CAN FOSTER A MORE EQUAL WORKFORCE
“We’re optimistic about the power of AI to advance our careers, boost creative potential and even contribute to a more equal workforce. Now … Gen Z has a built-in work BFF—a particularly crucial role as many are starting their careers remotely. Young professionals are also pushing boundaries in the workplace by exploring and integrating AI tools into various daily tasks. And we’re employing AI to democratize resources and level the playing field—with tools such as ChatGPT and ES.AI helping students and young job applicants elevate their resumes, prepare for job interviews and even discover emerging career paths.”
— Julia Dixon, a Gen Z senior cultural strategist and part of The Cultural Insiders Group at Weber Shandwick
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
