Good news: as the internet gets filled with more AI crap, those who use it with beautiful craft and surprising ideas will stand out even more.

By Bob Winter, CCO of Supergood

Your nephew can definitely make a car ad today. It can have any scene he can dream up. Things that would normally be ridiculous to even propose: a flying car, a flying car with wings, a flying car with wings fighting a dragon in space. It’s all possible, and all pretty simple to create quickly with all of the AI platforms available. But…will it be any good? Does anyone actually care anymore?

The answers? Probably not, and for God’s sake hopefully. Unless we’re willing to put in what it really takes to make something worth caring about. AI might have changed the tools, but it didn’t change the rules. We still need three things to make work that matters.

Tools are Easy. Talent Isn’t.

The machine age is allowing anyone to be a maker. But it’s also allowing anyone to just skip right over all the hard work that makes making worthwhile. As Steven Spielberg once said, “I’m not worried about the fact that everyone has a camera. A camera is just a tool. It takes talent to make a movie.” So talent and ideas will become more important than ever. So will putting in the time and energy to really make the work ‘work.’

Take the time to really understand your audience and how the product or service can fit into their lives. It really matters if we want to use AI to make impactful work.

Craft in the Age of AI

Craft is super important. We can’t compromise here (see three boobs, six fingers). This is requiring us creatives to build some new muscles. Everyone says prompting is the new ‘it’ skill. What that really means is developing a new skill in the name of craft. We have to work with AI in a way that is collaborative, specific and thoughtful. It’s frustrating sometimes. Maybe all the time. Because you don’t always get what you’re looking for. A lot of it is trial and error, rethinking the way you are asking for things until you get what you want. But sometimes a happy accident occurs, and you get something different than you expected, but wonderful. It can even open you up to a whole new idea, or sometimes even better than your original one.

Be relentless in your vision and in your drive to get the machines to create “it” the way you see it.

Make Quality Work People Actually Enjoy

During the process, we have to use all this new technology in a way that helps us keep doing what we do best. It’s now more important than ever to make sure every word of copy is perfect. Make sure the music brings the emotion we want; the pacing, color, look and feel are all just right. That the moments land.

Human emotion and attention to detail are key to solving problems in surprising ways that will really connect with your audience.

The awesome quote from Howard Gossage is still true – especially now: “People don’t like ads, they like what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.”

If we use our new skills and tools, combined with great strategy, surprising ideas and expert craft, maybe we can get better and faster at making…you know, things people are actually interested in.