The top 5 AI marketing activations to know about right now

The rise of AI in advertising will either herald a new era of artistic possibilities or represent the deadening mechanization of creativity. It’s a debate that is playing out in creative circles, especially under posts of AI-generated work on LinkedIn and Twitter. Was that mashup of “The Lord of the Rings” and Wes Anderson a genius idea, or was it a lazy reboot of Harry Potter-meets-Anderson, which had already been done? More recently, some AI enthusiasts were excited by Adobe Firefly, which has a “generative fill” feature that uses machine learning to fill in any part of an image. People started filling in classic images such as The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” cover and the “Mona Lisa,” among others. “I think a lot of this AI art craze comes down to these guys feeling the joy of being creative for the first time and mistaking it for something much deeper,” one commenter said on Twitter. No matter where advertisers fall on the discussion, AI is transforming the way work is done. And Ad Age is following the way these tools are making their way into the industry. Here is our latest “Creativity Top 5” series, AI edition. 5. Shaq attack First, something a bit less whimsical. Generative AI has delivered some truly frightening ad possibilities, such as the “ready for best pizza of life” video in April. A new video is making the rounds for “Shaq Shaker $hamillion.” Some powers should not be messed with, clearly. 4. Wunderman Thompson is ‘re-enchanted’ Wunderman Thompson Intelligence included the wonders of generative AI in its report on “the age of re-enchantment.” It included a familiar face among AI creators—Benjamin Benichou, CEO of e-commerce platform Drop. Benichou has been featured in Ad Age before for his imaginative brand twists, including using AI to envision a Nike store on Mars. “Already 51% of people globally have tried or are interested in trying generative AI tools, according to Wunderman Thompson data, highlighting the blistering pace at which this technology has evolved to capture public imagination,” Wunderman Thompson Intelligence wrote in May. Benichou’s latest creation was posted this week, using AI to design a store inspired by luxury travel brand Rimowa. The last image in the set was a “happy accident,” Benichou posted to LinkedIn, combining Rimowa with a jet. AI marketing blog How brands are using ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and other tools Read more here 3. TikTok generates scripts on-demand TikTok is the latest example of a social media app exploring how AI fits into products, and there are a few uses, including a chatbot named Tako, Ad Age reported. TikTok also is working on an AI script-maker, which could use ChatGPT-like text generation to spit out ideas for videos. The feature was spotted by Lindsey Gamble, associate director of influencer innovation at Mvrck, a creator marketing platform. While TikTok’s script-maker is a tool for creators to imagine new video ideas, it could also be useful to social media managers. TikTok did not immediately return a request for comment. 🚨NEW 🚨 TikTok is testing an AI-powered 'Script Generator' that creates video scripts along w/ suggested visuals based on user inputs such as the industry, product name & product description. You can also select the desired video format style and duration.Tested it below ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/kFAISfgKz6— Lindsey Gamble (@LindseyGamble_) June 7, 2023 Text-generating AI assistants are finding their way into all parts of the industry, especially in the ad tech platforms run by internet giants. On Wednesday, Salesforce was the latest marketing tech platform to incorporate generative AI to help advertisers run campaigns. The Trade Desk had some announcements, too. Instagram, owned by Meta, is also experimenting with AI chatbots, and ad tech. 2. McDonald’s ‘A.I’m lovin’ it’ McDonald’s Brazil kept its latest AI marketing riff simple. It asked ChatGPT, “What is the most iconic burger in the world.” GALERIA.ag was the agency behind the activation and turned ChatGPT’s response into a billboard. ChatGPT validated McDonald’s Big Mac, but it did it in typical ChatGPT style, starting with a caveat (it can’t be rude, after all): “While there are many iconic burgers around the world the most globally recognized burger is likely the McDonald’s Big Mac.” Big Mac aficionados will recognize the text colors in this McDonald’s video as those of the iconic burger’s buns, patties, lettuce and cheese. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs 1. Adobe makes it look easy Adobe recently installed Firefly, its generative AI tool, into Photoshop, bringing a new level of photo-editing power to the masses. People started playing around with “generative fill,” to imagine what it would be like to zoom out on images, including the “Mona Lisa” and Van Gogh’s “The Bedroom in Arles.” This TikTok account, @pictelate, demonstrated how easy it is to use generative fill for ads, mixing the classic painting “Girl With A Pearl Earring” and Nike. @pictelate Replying to @Nikki Making a Nike ad with Photoshop’s new generative fill AI tool #photoshop #photoshopai #generativefill ♬ original sound - Pictelate See all of Ad Age's Web3 Trailblazers here

The top 5 AI marketing activations to know about right now

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