The phrase ‘It’s the economy, stupid,’ was made popular by President Clinton’s campaign strategist James Carville in 1992. One of Asia’s leading creative chiefs believes the term should apply to the environment as few are thinking about how the industry’s warm embrace of AI is damaging our planet.
The advertising, media, and marketing industry knows that AI is here to stay, but how often do senior marketers lament the price—both ethical and environmental—for harnessing the technology? This has been playing on the minds of Valerie Madon, the APAC chief creative officer of McCann Worldgroup, and Shane Geffen, national executive creative director, HERO & McCann Australia.
In the seemingly mad rush to embrace AI‑powered tools, Madon and Geffen are concerned that marketers and the wider industry is struggling to see the forest from the trees, particularly about some of the limitations and risks the technology poses.
“To be brutally honest, I was very against AI at first. I think we are still the originators of ideas. The ideation process comes from understanding the brand and the strategy, the challenges our clients have in different markets. I handle everything from Japan to Thailand to Malaysia, and AI doesn’t have that kind of sophisticated societal knowledge yet,” Madon said.
“The advancement of AI in other areas, such as the medical field, where it can solve real medical or societal issues, that’s where the real power of AI is. A lot of what we use AI for in comms feels a little unnecessary. Sometimes, I wonder, ‘Is this really the best use of it?’ It feels a little irresponsible; everyone in the world is using it now without really thinking of the environmental impact.
“I wish there were more communication about that. Right now, there’s a lot of talk about how you are using it. Shouldn’t we start thinking about when, and if, we should use it?”
AI also risks atrophying the creative ‘muscle’ — the ability to think, connect, and challenge. “Conceptualising is like a muscle. If you’re not training that muscle, I think the comfort of leaving it up to something else can take that skill away,” she added.
Using AI minimally & retaining brand exclusivity
There is a fine line between implementing AI in small ways to enhance tasks like number crunching or conceptual research, and relying on it to make the visuals for ad campaigns. When all agencies use the same technology, the work risks becoming homogenous, and creativity plateauing.
“We use AI as a creative companion. You can use it to brainstorm ideas, test to see if an idea has been done before, and sense check that it’s original,” Geffen said. “There’s so much AI slop, it produces a lot of waste. But at the same time, when it’s really good, it rises to the top.”
Madon said that AI can reduce hours of desk work by providing insights in minutes, but isn’t 100 per cent trustworthy.
“Even when it tries to give you ideas, they are not good quality. They feel very familiar because it is based on things that have already been done before,” she said.
Both Madon and Geffen warn that AI should be reined in and that using it too freely can result in a brand losing its way and the trust it has built with its audience.
“A lot of brands talk about authenticity, for instance, L’Oréal’s ‘I’m worth it’ tagline. If they used an AI model, it would change everything and wouldn’t be authentic anymore,” Madon said.
The absence of contextual awareness is glaring; AI doesn’t know a client’s budget, media constraints, or local dynamics. Creatives can prompt better, but often the creative team can progress faster, starting from tried and tested principles.
If creatives want to use AI in campaigns, Madon and Geffen advise only doing so only where it naturally fits, for instance, a fictional world or a manga story. For many campaigns, they maintain that AI feels unnecessary, and sometimes even irresponsible.
“Every time I use it, I wonder, is this the best use? Considering the environmental impact, the energy draw, we have to think responsibly. Don’t play the game of efficiency; make sure you’re staying true to your brand purpose,” Madon said.
Geffen added: “If anything, the worst thing is probably being in the middle. In the future, brands not using AI at all will probably be a point of difference. So, either use it minimally, or use it in such a way that signals to consumers what you’re doing.”
Luckily, clients still want ideas from people, not AI. Walking into pitch rooms, Madon said, “They’ll ask: ‘What’s the idea?’ not: ‘What tool did you use?’ The idea still matters.”
Geffen said that AI is often perceived as an easy and quick fix, “but you still need a human to implement it”.
Or perhaps, consider whether you really need to use AI at all.
