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In the world of communication and marketing, artificial intelligence stopped being a vague futuristic concept some time ago. It is now a fully fledged professional tool – a vital aid that can revolutionise the creative process and the way advertising campaigns are conceived and implemented.
The concept of AI creativity is increasingly at the heart of the strategies employed by innovative brands of all sizes and in all sectors, and these pioneers offer an excellent source of inspiration for the rest of us. But what does AI creativity really mean? And how can AI be applied to communication activities?
In this article, we’ll look at the use of AI in creative, branding and communication processes, both from a theoretical viewpoint and through some case studies and best practices. First however, we’ll try to establish exactly what it entails… D-AI-ve in!
What do we mean by AI creativity?
The term AI creativity refers to the use of artificial intelligence to help generate creative content like text, images, videos and music… and even to develop marketing concepts and strategies. It therefore goes beyond automating repetitive activities, and involves using machine-learning models and neural networks to create original, personalised and sometimes unexpected messages that can really engage the public.
A quick spoiler: this is not (yet) autonomous creativity in the human sense of the term. Rather – as we will see shortly – it is a form of co-creation: AI suggests, inspires and generates options, while the human guides the process, corrects things, makes choices and provides emotional and strategic context.
It is a new and constantly evolving area, which has not yet been universally adopted (far from it!) In a paper titled Artificial Intelligence & Creativity: A Manifesto for Collaboration, an international group of researchers identified three main approaches to using AI within creative work and processes:
- Organic: a still very common approach, where AI-related tools and practices are prohibited in favour of the human touch. A couple of years ago, the bank JPMorganChase banned its employees from using ChatGPT, even for writing simple emails (although it later had a rethink and launched its own AI software!).
- Plagiarism 3.0: a risky approach, both ethically and in terms of the copyright held by the AI platforms themselves, which involves using AI without acknowledging it.
- Co-cre-AI-tion: our preferred route and the basis for this article, involving deep and mutual collaboration between machines and people in developing new activities and output.
Artificial intelligence and creativity: some supporting data
We’ve made a start at understanding the meaning and importance of artificial intelligence in the world of marketing and communication from a conceptual and qualitative perspective. Now let’s look at some statistics to back it up, drawing on some research – first and foremost the Artificial Intelligence Marketing Benchmark Report 2025.
- The AI market in the marketing sphere has an estimated value of $47.3 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 36.36%, taking it to $107.5 billion by 2028.
- 92% of firms say they want to invest in generative tools over the next three years; 88% already use them on a daily basis.
- Almost 70% of marketers have integrated AI into their everyday professional activities.
The benefits and challenges of using artificial intelligence in marketing
Basically, AI use in producing content, campaigns and communications is here to stay. And, as we’ll see, it is already being used by advertisers, creative directors and professionals for some very interesting initiatives.
First, however, I asked myself two questions:
- What are the real benefits that mean you should start taking AI creativity seriously in your business – whatever sector you work in?
- Which elements are still yet to be resolved, and most likely will be optimised in the near future?
And I couldn’t resist asking ChatGPT to give me four advantages and four unresolved challenges 😉
Benefits of AI creativity
- Speed and productivity
AI can generate content rapidly, reducing the production time for complex campaigns and enabling fast iteration. - Large-scale customisation
AI models can analyse behavioural, demographic or preference data, and so adapt text and visuals to suit individual users. - Predictive analytics and optimisation
Smart algorithms can test, evaluate and improve campaign performance in real time, suggesting changes to optimise engagement. - Creative accessibility
Even teams with small budgets can create quality content using AI-based tools (e.g. copywriting, design, video, etc.).
Unresolved challenges of AI creativity
- Lack of empathy and true emotion
AI is not sentient, and so risks producing content that, while consistent and stylistically correct, is cold, detached or inauthentic. - Limited originality
AI builds on what it has already seen: it can mix, combine and rework, but it is not yet able to create truly revolutionary concepts. - Risk of homogenisation
If too many brands use the same tools (as is already happening), the messaging can become similar and standardised, and therefore not very distinctive. - Ethical and legal issues
Who owns AI-generated content? And how do you ensure that no sensitive data or algorithmic bias is used during the creative process?
4+1 real communication campaigns where AI played a leading role
As I already mentioned, AI is already a major part of many marketing ideas and communication campaigns.
I’ve chosen four examples of big brands using the technology, both to inspire you and to demonstrate the creativity that can be achieved from collaboration between people and machines. Enjoy!
Heinz – AI Ketchup
Heinz launched an iconic campaign leveraging DALL·E 2 that asked its audience (predominantly fans of the brand) to ‘imagine’ ketchup with special prompts like ketchup in space or impressionist ketchup. The resulting bottles had labels similar to Heinz’s, confirming its product’s and brand’s leading market position: “AI thinks Heinz when it thinks ketchup”.
Nutella – Nutella Unica
Ferrero used algorithms to generate 7 million unique Nutella labels, with no two labels the same. Large-scale personalisation, collectability and social buzz were the perfect recipe for pairing AI and human creativity!
Lexus – Driven by Intuition
In 2018, for the launch of its ES Hybrid, the car company Lexus came up with an advert. Nothing unusual there, you might say. But what if I told you the advert and its plot were written by IBM Watson’s artificial mind, based on analysis of the top award-winning commercials over the previous 15 years? The narration was then entrusted to human directors: once again showing AI and human creativity combining to create a complex result.
Coca-‑Cola – Create Real Magic
In 2023, a collaboration between OpenAI and the global consulting firm Bain led to the creation of Create Real Magic – the first platform of its type to combine the abilities of GPT-4 and DALL·E. Clients from the USA, Australia and certain European countries had the chance to try it out on a special website for a short period. There they found dozens of elements relating to the Coca-Cola brand – including the bottle, logo and historic symbols from its advertising archive – which they could use to give free rein to their creativity, enhanced by AI.
Coca-Cola is also making great strides in other areas of AI, exploring different ways to exploit it beyond marketing: from managing internal knowledge and workflows to customer service, order management and creating materials for shops. Returning to our topic, however, take a look at the 2024 Christmas ad Unexpected Santa. Notice anything strange? That’s right… it was generated using AI too!
Dove’s purpose marketing
You’re no doubt wondering what the fifth campaign in my list of 4+1 is. It’s more of a wildcard entry: a business that has used the narrative of artificial intelligence in communication to reiterate the brand’s core attributes and DNA – and its perspective on this in relation to purpose-driven marketing.
I’m talking about Dove, which over 20 years ago launched a multichannel storytelling platform challenging women’s beauty standards and encouraging self-confidence and self-esteem (and which later became a true brand signature, i.e. a hallmark feature with a strong effect on its positioning): Real Beauty.
Real Beauty stemmed from a global study conducted in 10 different countries and based on interviews with over 3,000 women, seeking to understand their perception of female beauty and their relationship with their body, and this research still underpins the platform today.
It uncovered some important truths (or insights, to use advertising jargon):
- Over 70% of the women interviewed didn’t attribute the concept of beauty solely to a woman’s physical appearance
- Only 4% described themselves as ‘beautiful’
- 47% considered themselves overweight
The Code – What Kind of Beauty Do We Want AI to Learn? is the latest step in this storytelling platform: an advert that reaffirms the company’s stance on authentic beauty in the AI era, and its commitment in this area.
Conclusions: are we heading towards augmented humanity?
When combined with enough strategic awareness at the idea generation stage and care in production, AI can enhance human creativity without replacing it. It offers speed, scalable adaptability and new forms of engagement; but it must be used responsibly, empathetically and sensitively to preserve the authenticity of your message and your business’s unique features.
The most memorable campaigns are the ones where brands and businesses use AI to tell heart-warming or emotional stories that speak to real audiences and not just cold data. This is well worth remembering in your own experiments with the technology.
As is so often the case, the technology is only the medium: it is the idea that really counts. The future of AI creativity will be increasingly hybrid: when combined, human input and technology produce something even more powerful!