AI-Driven Creativity: The Good, the Bad, and the Inevitable
The creative world is rapidly evolving with the rise of AI image and video tools like Midjourney, Flux, Runway and Magnific AI. But as we embrace this revolution, how do we balance its benefits with potential drawbacks?
And, how can we use these tools to elevate creativity whilst maintaining brand authenticity?
Transforming The Creative Process
At Foretell, like many others in the creative industry, we’ve embraced tools like Midjourney and Runway to enhance our creative process; particularly in the initial stages of art direction, brand identity and storytelling projects. We recently tested visuals for a Louis Vuitton bag – creating a bag in a white desert sand set, complete with a surreal white snake to emphasise product details, material and colour.
In another instance, we used these tools to visualise how Saucony Hurricane sneakers would look in an urban concrete landscape, blending a clean product visual with a gritty, modern backdrop. This allows us to explore a wide range of creative directions, achieve high quality visuals, in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods.
Similarity and Bias
But it’s not all plain sailing. One of the biggest issues we’ve noticed with AI-generated content is that it all starts to feel very similar. Since these tools rely on massive datasets of existing images and videos, the results can sometimes lack originality. This means that despite all the creative possibilities, the outputs become familiar, missing that unique spark that makes a brand stand out.
Another significant concern is bias. AI tools are trained on data that reflect the biases and norms of the internet, which can lead to problematic outcomes. For instance, if you ask an AI to create an image of a “beautiful woman,” you’re likely to get something that conforms to very narrow, idealised beauty standards—think smooth skin, big eyes, and full lips. This doesn’t just perpetuate unrealistic beauty ideals; it can also alienate audiences who are looking for more authentic and diverse representations.
Improvements in AI is a certainty and as an industry and a society we are at the very beginning of a revolution in how people interact with brands. Whilst right now the pendulum is very much in favour of human creative; at some point teams who avoid AI, even in the smallest capacity, will no doubt find themselves disadvantaged in some way.
For brands that prioritise authenticity, relying too heavily on AI-generated content can be a slippery slope. While these tools are incredibly valuable for quickly bringing ideas to life and enhancing the creative process, right now, they shouldn’t replace the use of real people and genuine stories in marketing.
Until consumers truly adopt AI visuals as ‘normal’, content that features real individuals tends to resonate more with audiences – fostering trust and a deeper connection that AI visuals currently can’t achieve.
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