 |
|
|
|||||
Theres a statistic thats been making the rounds for the better part of a decade that says the average person is exposed to about 10,000 ads every day. This has always sounded a tad suspect, as it amounts to an ad every six seconds of our waking day (it has since been debunked). But maybe the reason its persisted this long is because it really feels true. Our feeds are saturated with ads. The airwaves, TV broadcasts, sports sidelines, team jerseys, and our streamers are full of them. Now artificial intelligence is threatening to make that 10,000 ads a day statistic a reality. Agency Genre.ai has made AI-generated ads for IM8, Popeyes, and Qatar Airlines, as well as the viral Kalshi spot that aired during the NBA Finals. When Soras latest version dropped back in October, agency founder PJ Ace posted on X, Brands will need to make an ad every other day to stay relevant. Kill me. Meanwhile, earlier this month, Philip Ho, the founder of the appropriately named AI video production company Absurd, told the TBPN podcast that his company is getting asked for as many as 1,500 videos a month from single clients. Just set me on fire. All due respect to Ace and Ho, but the version of commercial culture theyre selling sounds like an AI-generated fever dream in which were all forced to remove our own eyeballs with rusty shrimp forks. Even legislation is starting to agree. Drowning culture in a sea of sameness isnt good for our eyeballs, nor is it a good investment for brands. If you watch the ads Aces company has produced, and compare them to McDonalds’ recent AI ad (which just got pulled off the air in Europe), or even Cokes AI holiday ads, they all have that same . . . vibe. The people and scenes all appear to be using the same filter. It feels oddly homogenous. Now take that and increase the number of ads by tenfold. Pure unfiltered nightmare fuel. If every brand is pumping out a new AI-generated ad every single day, lets consider what actual differentiation looks like. In 2026, brands should be finding new ways to utilize scarcity, anticipation, and fandom communities to that end. You could call it the less is more approach, but I prefer the STFU Brand Strategy. The STFU Brand Strategy isn’t about being quiet, it’s about being more strategic in both how and when you talk to your audience. It is the pursuit of work or experiences that are enthusiastically passed around, as opposed to having AI slop fire-hosed down people’s throats every waking moment. Award-winning ad agency Johannes Leonardo was one of the best practitioners of the STFU brand strategy this past year through its work for brands like Adidas and Oscar Mayer. Cofounder and creative chairman Leo Premutico is a firm believer in the idea that differentiation will come in the form of interesting ideas that real people share with other real people. There’s no way that volume is the answer, says Premutico. This whole idea that the more AI is generating crap that it is then itself learning from, is just going to snowball to the point where, what are we even looking at? The last thing we need is more quantity. It needs to be something else. The types of ads and content initially being produced en masse by AI are the social media video equivalent of banner ads. Performance marketing churn baiting us to click to find out more or shop now. Reports for years have pegged banner ad click-through rates at less than 1%. Now, AI-generated ads are reportedly performing much better than banner ads ever did. But this is not how brands are built. Or rather, it’s not how long-lasting brands are built. Brands with a very healthy upper funnel utilize these tools to keep the lower funnel wheels turning, but it is (or should be) purely supplemental or supportive of the primary brand work. At the very moment were seeing industry capitulation to AI as a sacrifice to the gods of efficiency (read: cost savings as AI replace humans) were seeing this steady drumbeat of audience backlash to AI advertising. Think about that: The very thing people routinely say they hate (ads!) is something they dont want despoiled. The brands and agencies that creatively heed that call will be the ones to forge the most meaningful connections with consumers. Pump down the volume First of all, this is not a revolutionary or particularly unique viewpoint. Let’s take one modern example. The entire streetwear and sneaker economy is built upon scarcity. Limited editions and surprise drops, combined with a very specific point of view, elite communication, and taste have built rabid fanbases. Brands like Supreme, Palace, and Corteiz are not churning out AI slop. View this post on Instagram London-based Corteiz is arguably the hottest streetwear brand on the planet. Its founder communicates directly with its audience on social, and its Instagram page was initially private. Its pop-ups are often one-day-only, with the location announced just hours before the event. Its ethos is reportedly real life only. Last year in New York, the brand invited fans to exchange other brands of denim for a pair of Corteiz, limited to just 250 pairs. The result of this restraint? Rabid fandom. The focus on specific moments, and using them as a flywheel of ad materialcapitalizing on user-generated content around that moment, producing additional content from itworks to reinforce a brand’s cultural relevance. Take, for example, racing giant hot dog cars in front of 100,000 people. Earlier this year, Premuticos agency created the Wienie500 for Oscar Mayer, in which they raced five of the brands famed Wienermobiles against each other at the Daytona 500. It streamed live on the Fox Sports app, getting 150 million total views; media coverage and social media attracted nearly seven billion earned impressions. Oscar Mayer saw its biggest Memorial Day sales lift in years. I think the opportunity and the way to build a brand today is figuring out how each time you do something that captures people’s imagination, attention, and participation that it’s feeding into something bigger, says Premutico. It’s feeding into that brand equity so that it’s not a one-off online thing and then disappears. Anti-slop algorithm Asking brands to STFU isnt some Luddite plea. That ship has sailed. The good ship Sloppipop is here, and its never going awayjust like all the programmatic ads that follow you around trying to sell you the shoes you already bought a goddamn week ago. Despite how much we hate those ads, the programmatic ad tech firms are still rolling in billions. Rich doesnt mean good. But it could mean better. Instead of using this technology to flood our feeds, brands should be using it to refine them. Brand strategist and consultant James Kirkham wrote in his newsletter back in October about cracks in our obedience to the algorithm, that a second age of algorithmic culture may be upon us, defined “not by blind submission, but by conscious negotiation.” Well still use the machines, but well start interrogating their taste a bit more because we want to know whos feeding the feed. He said taste is becoming the new trust. If the first age of algorithms was about eery prediction, the next will surely be about permissin, writes Kirkham. Those who build tools that help us understand rather than merely consume, and who restore agency, authorship, and flavor to our choices will own the decade ahead. This is consistent with what multiple studies and trends have been telling us: As AI threatens to turn up the volume on the number of ads we see online, more people are seeking ways to avoid the algorithm and have more unique experiences. Studies show that 81% of Gen Z wish it was easier to disconnect from devices, and 54% prefer no AI involvement in creative work. Meanwhile, 84% of ads reportedly go unnoticed or simply arent remembered. They are effectively invisible. And now TikTok is giving users some control over how much AI they see in their feeds. Ive talked to Yeti CEO Matt Reintjes about the dangers of overexposure, and how his brand’s growth strategy, while ambitious, has always favored depth over breadth. Obviously the outdoors gear brand advertises extensively, but its brand-building workthe stuff that gets people excited, like its films and involvement in sportsis very carefully and strategically built over time. Back in 2023, he distilled it down to this: Brands face multiple points in their journey where they can be deep and relevant, but at the expense of growth and expansion, or they can chase growth and they forget about the depth of connections that they had already built, said Reintjes. Over time, you erode brand value, you erode uniqueness, you erode support and passion for who you are. And so weve been really thoughtful about how we drive breadth, adding on more communities, bringing in more consumers domestically, growing the brand internationally, all while also keeping those deep and connected roots all the way back to our earliest communities. Participation value When any brand can fake content, testimonials, or “viral” moments at an infinite scale, the only real measure of true value may become actual human participation. View this post on Instagram Nike is doing it with its soccer work lately. Witness its Manor Palace community space collab with Palace in London, or the latest stop of its Toma El Juego street soccer tournament event series at Art Basel in Miami last week. But real human participation can also extend to content. Just look at State Farms Gamerhood series. Part game show, part reality show, featuring gaming creators like Kai Cenat, and its latest season has more than 27 million views. One of the best examples of this past year was how Adidas effectively became the sixth member of Oasis for the bands massive reunion tour last summer. The omnipresent merch, retail events, and even an adcreated by Johannes Leonardothat ran at the start of every show. Premutico says that creative marketers can no longer be asking themselves, “What content do I make?” but “What community do I build?” with the challenge of creating ideas worthy of consumer participation. We need to create an outcome for a brand that is bigger and better than the outcome that’s going to be guaranteed by the algorithm, says Premutico. That’s our central challenge as a creative industry.
Category:
E-Commerce
CNBC and its sister networks, including USA, Golf Channel, and E!, are spinning off from their former parent company Comcast NBCUniversal to form a new publicly traded company called Versant. As part of the new company, some of the brands in the portfolio have to rebrand to get rid of NBC’s iconic Peacock mark, CNBC included. CNBC’s new logo, which goes live December 13, might take viewers some time to get used to. CNBC’s logo evolution, 1989present. [Images: CNBC] The financial news network’s new logo was designed in house to easily match the preexisting visual assets it uses on air. The typography of the mark based is on the network’s font, Gotham, and it shows a triangle cutting into the letter N and floating just above the wordmark. That triangle, which the network calls an arrow, matches its on-air graphics package. The triangle shape has been used by CNBC since 2023. It’s shown next to stocks to indicate which companies are up in green and which are down in red, and it appears as an icon displayed next to on-air chyrons like “Earnings Report.” The colors used in the new logo match the the dark “Broadcast Blue” and light “Neon Blue” already used in the network’s primary color palette. The new logo is meant to reflect a modern, streamlined identity, CNBC says, but the initial reaction online to the new logo hasn’t exactly been positive. In one Reddit thread, complaints ranged from “generic” and “corporate-looking” to being bothered by the triangular notch at the bottom of the N and B. “The triangle represents a guillotine blade, killing the brand,” one wrote. On X, a commenter asked if it was a joke. Though the peacock is gone, CNBC is betting that by sticking to its arrow and wordmark it will be able to maintain the strength and recognition of its name brand with its audience even with a new look.
Category:
E-Commerce
Like many of you, I grew up watching Its a Wonderful Life on television every holiday season. Frank Capras beloved film was a comforting part of our holiday tradition, often playing in the background while my family wrapped presents, cooked, or otherwise made merry. Although the film was made in 1946, its lessons about money, power, and community seem remarkably relevant (and more poignant than ever) in 2025. Despite the passage of nearly 80 years, Americans are still facing many of the same issues that the citizens of Bedford Falls dealt with. Rewatching George Bailey regain his hope can offer us a modern blueprint for handling these timeless economic woes. Invest in each other As a small child, I was fascinated by the bank run scene that occurs just as George (Jimmy Stewart) and his wife Mary (Donna Reed) are leaving town for their honeymoon. The citizens of Bedford Falls get spooked that Georges Building & Loan may fail, and so they show up to withdraw their money. This scene was how I learned what a bank run isand also how banks handle our money. Because George offers a masterclass description of how his business works. He tells the frightened customers the following: You’re thinking of this place all wrong, as if I had the money back in a safe. The money’s not here. Well, your money’s in Joe’s housethat’s right next to yoursand in the Kennedy house and Mrs. Maitland’s house and 100 others. You’re lending them the money to build, and then they’re going to pay it back to you as best they can. Now, what are you going to do, foreclose on them? This scene helped me understand that money deposited in a bank doesnt (all) stay there. The bank lends it out so the money can grow. But theres more to this scene than just how banking works. Because George Bailey doesnt run a bankhe runs a Building & Loan. Building & loan associations were cooperative mutual aid organizations that gave members borrowing privileges and dividend rights. These associations made home ownership accessible when mortgages were more difficult to get. Because building & loan associations were cooperative, they had to rely on their members trust and investment in each other to stay afloat. Thats why George ends this scene with this plea to his customers: Now, we can get through this thing all right. Weve got to stick together, though. Weve got to have faith in each other. How to apply this lesson in 2025 Building & loan associations largely went defunct not long after Its a Wonderful Life came out, while savings & loan organizations, which work in a similar way, have been thin on the ground since the S&L crisis of the 1980s. This makes it a little more difficult to offer economic solidarity to our friends and neighbors the way the people of Bedford Falls can do through Bailey Brothers Building & Loan. But there are many other ways to invest in each other and in our communities, George Bailey-style. Consider the following: Shop locally Consider opening an account with a local bank or credit union Attend concerts, fairs, games, etc. Sponsor local youth sports teams Volunteer Visit your library (maybe you’ll see alternate-universe Mary!) Offer to help your neighbors Set up a little free library in your yard Join your neighborhood Buy Nothing group Know your worth At Georges lowest point, his Uncle Billy has misplaced the Building & Loans $8,000 cash bank deposit (approximately $133,000 in 2025 dollars). The loss of this money will destroy the business and could lead to Georges arrest. In desperation, George appeals to the films villain, Henry Potter, for a loan, using his life insurance for collateral. Mr. Potter scoffs at Georges request and tells him this: Look at you. A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothin’ but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. You’re worth more dead than alive! This cruel comment prompts George to consider suicide. He stands on a bridge, thinking that his family would be better off if he jumped, because at least he would be worth more money. It takes the intervention of Angel, Second Class, Clarence Odbody to convince George that there is far more to his life than money. While It’s a Wonderful Life makes it clear that George does know his worth is greater than money under normal circumstances, he cant quite recall that when he is so stressed, overwhelmed, and unhappy after his desperate interview with Mr. Potter. How to apply this lesson in 2025 Considering the number of changes to benefits such as SNAP, Social Security disability insurance, and federal student loans, many modern viewers can probably relate to Georges feelings in Mr. Potters office. We, too, may feel as though we need to show that we are worthy by providing a balance sheet of all our securities, stocks, and bonds. Otherwise, we are being told were not worth feeding, supporting, or educating. Unfortunately, the collective action necessary to ensure these benefits remain accessible is slow work. But knowing that you are worthwhile can be much faster. You dont have to wait around for your personal Clarence to tell you so. Remember that the money that Mr. Potter and his ilk place so much emphasis on doesnt really exist. But your worth does. And just like George makes an enormous difference in his world, you make an enormous difference in yours. Whereas money is just an idea we all share. Have patience Although its a beautifully written, prfectly cast film, Its a Wonderful Life flopped at the box office in 1946, before slipping into obscurity. Then, in a clerical error worthy of Uncle Billy, someone neglected to renew its copyright protection in 1974, which meant the film lapsed into public domain. No one expected what happened next. Television stations began showing Capras film during the Christmas season throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was a free programming option when TV stations couldnt afford to put on expensive holiday shows. And the once-obscure story of one bankers life in a small town became the most beloved yuletide movie tradition of all time. How to apply this lesson in 2025 Im a sucker for art that takes a long time to find its audience. Because sometimes works of genius simply arent appreciated until long after theyre released. Frank Capra created a masterpiece, even though it wasnt immediately recognized as such. He did everything in his power to create a fantastic movieand what happened next was out of his hands. This is something I personally need to remind myself of. The work I do today may not bear fruit tomorrow or next week or 10 years from now. But that doesnt make my actions meaningless nor does it mean my work will never result in positive change. It just means I dont know what will happen, I should exercise some patience, and I should have faith in the process. Do your best work today, whatever that work may be, and have the patience to accept that it will make its mark when the time is right. Its what George would do. Helping angels get their wings If youre a sobbing mess by the time George finds Zuzus petals in his pocket, youre not alone. And thats the entire point. Its a Wonderful Life reminds us that we are not alone. We are stronger together, but we must invest in each other to ensure that we keep that power. We are all worthy, but have to reject any thinking that reduces our worth to our bank balance (or any other number). And what we do makes a difference, but we have to have patience that the change will come, but not necessarily when or how we expect.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||