In the shadow of all the noise online, something fascinating is beginning to take shape. It’s no longer just TikTok or YouTube that’s changing the way we communicate visually – it’s who (or rather what) is doing it.
I’m not talking about a new generation of film directors or genius editors. I’m talking about software. About gorillas. Or whatever they are – AI avatars, digital presenters, script engines, and scene-building algorithms. I’ve spent hours exploring different platforms over the past weeks. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to understand. What is really happening?
And what I see... is nothing short of a revolution.
From Storyboard to Button Click
Creating a commercial used to be a project that demanded time, money, and a full crew. Scriptwriters, directors, camera operators, sound engineers, editors – and often actors. A budget of hundreds of thousands – sometimes millions – of kronor wasn’t unusual. All for 30 seconds of prime-time sales brilliance.
But today? You choose an avatar, a voice, upload a logo, type a few lines and click! – out comes a finished video. Maybe not Cannes-worthy, but surprisingly effective. And most importantly: it works. It engages. It sells.
Is It Wrong That It’s Easy?
There’s a built-in skepticism among many creatives – especially in advertising – toward anything that comes too easily. As if art must be painful. As if it’s not “real” if it didn’t cost blood, sweat, and post-production panic. But who decides that?
I ask myself: If AI can create just as effective a commercial as a traditional production company, why would anyone still pay for the old model? And the answer… might be that we still want to believe in the magic. The craftsmanship. The creative soul.
But isn’t that the very soul we’re now coding into machines?
Where Do the Ad Agencies Go?
It’s an open question. Will we soon see a wave of closures? Or will agencies adapt, pivot, and become platform experts instead of creators? Will the agency of the future be one person with an AI subscription and good timing?
Imagine a small startup in a suburb outside Gothenburg. They have an idea, a product, and zero budget. They don’t go to an agency. They open an AI tool. Ten minutes later, they have a campaign. And maybe – just maybe – it goes viral.
What does that say about the value of the industry that once thrived on this?
When Creativity Becomes a Button
I’ll admit it: I’m both impressed and a little scared. As I click through these tools – from Runway to Pika to HeyGen – I realize that almost anyone can now be a "filmmaker". You no longer need to light a scene, shoot, or even write well. The programs fill in the gaps. Improve what you wrote. Polish what you thought was done.
It’s almost too good.
But here’s the thing… it also feels a bit empty. If everyone can do it – what’s the value of being able to?
And: If creativity is reduced to a series of menu choices – is it still creativity?
AI + Ads = The New Normal?
What’s striking is how quickly this is becoming the “new normal.” I see more and more businesses – large and small – using AI avatars in their internal training videos, ads, and pitches. They’re no longer afraid it looks “cheap.” The audience has adjusted. Maybe even prefers it. Maybe because it’s faster, more direct, more tailored. Or just less polished.
But this raises another question: Will ads in the future feel more or less human? Will we feel anything at all?
The Swan Song of the Old Guard?
I can’t help but think of all those who once built their lives around ad production. Sound designers, stylists, editors. The people behind the scenes who were crucial to the end result. What happens to them? Will they shift to prompt writers? Become consultants in how to optimize AI-generated clips?
Or will some of them simply vanish – quite literally – from the picture?
And if it’s now economically indefensible to produce traditional commercials compared to these new tools – should we let go, or fight for the old ways?
The Unexpected Resistance
It’s easy to assume resistance to AI advertising comes mainly from the older generation. But I’m seeing something else: even young creatives – digital to the core – are expressing concern. Not because of job loss. But because the stories might be dying.
When everyone uses the same templates, voices, and styles – when originality becomes just another filter in an AI tool – what’s left of the idea? The risk, the tension, the play?
It’s a fair concern.
Future Ads Will Be Personal – And That’s What’s Scary
Ironically, AI might be on its way to creating the most personal advertising we’ve ever seen. Tailored to your demographics, your search history, your mood. Ads that feel like they’re talking to you.
But... if every person gets their own version of a commercial, doesn’t that erase something vital? The shared experience, the reference, the thing we all talked about? Does advertising then just become another private, isolated whisper in your feed?
Will We One Day Laugh at All This?
I imagine the future. A generation raised on AI looks back at our traditional commercials from the ’90s and 2000s. Laughs at how slow they were. How stiff. How much money we poured into getting someone to say “Buy our product” on primetime TV.
At the same time, maybe they – like us – will long for something more... human?
Or is that just our nostalgia talking? Our reluctance to let go?
What Should We Do With the Feeling?
So here I sit, reflecting. I’ve just exported another “commercial” from an AI tool. It looks good. It sells. It cost almost nothing.
And still… it feels like something is missing.
So I turn the question to you, dear reader: Should we accept that advertising – like so much else – has now become an algorithmic product? Or is there still room for the unpredictable, the alive, the imperfect?
Because maybe it’s in the imperfect that the most memorable ads are made.
And maybe – just maybe – sometimes we still need a real gorilla, not a digital one, to make a mark on our hearts.
By Chris...