2023 was the year of change and innovation in the world of marketing and advertising. AI took over quickly, and before we could comprehend what had happened, it had swiftly made its way into our daily lives.
Brands all over the world started jumping on the bandwagon; some incorporated AI in their day-to-day functions, while others invested in full-blown campaigns designed by AI. The common sentiment in the industry was far from what people thought it would be. Instead of dismissing AI (considering in the past how certain groups have been vocal about the technology being dangerous and how it will eat up jobs), the industry welcomed and embraced it wholeheartedly.
Here are our top 5 picks where brands used AI for better and improved operations or applied the technology in the production of a kick-ass advertising/marketing campaign.
1. Nike Ad Ft. Serena Williams
Nike used artificial intelligence to develop an advertising campaign with Serena Williams titled “Never Done Evolving.” Nike and AKQA created an AI-generated match between Serena’s earlier self, particularly her maiden Grand Slam in 1999, and a more experienced version of herself from the 2017 Australian Open.
By analyzing historical footage, machine learning was able to recreate each era’s playing style in terms of agility, reaction time, shot selection, decision-making, and recovery. The astonishing outcome was a total of 130,000 games and 5,000 matches between the two Serenas.
Nike in honor of its 50-year milestone, aimed to highlight the strength and development of Serena’s game.
2. Heinz AI Ketchup
Which brand comes to your mind when you think of Ketchup? Maybe not Heinz for a Pakistani, but for people around the world, Heinz is the face of Ketchup, and the brand proved it with a genius idea that they came up with in collaboration with Rethink Ideas.
The campaign’s discovery that ketchup-themed prompts always resulted in pictures that resembled Heinz bottles. The results were similar even in made-up settings, and it was mind-blowing, to say the least. The idea was inspired by DALL-E 2, an artificial intelligence image generator.
Advertisers and social media users alike were entranced by the ketchup-themed images that developed when people contributed their own AI commands.
3. BMW Ad Campaign Using Generative AI
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners was an advertising agency that BMW partnered with to continue the trend of featuring artwork on their vehicle models. In 2021, they collaborated on a new ad for the 8 Series Gran Coupé that included art developed by artificial intelligence projected onto the automobiles.
The goal of promoting high-end automobiles is to make an emotional connection with potential buyers so that they would choose to purchase their product over a similarly equipped but less expensive alternative.
4. JP Morgan Chase & Co AI Implementation
In comparison to other companies, JP Morgan was one of the first to take advantage of AI. Chase began using Persado in 2016, and in 2019, the company negotiated a five-year agreement with them.
Over this period, they saw a 450% spike in clicks after using Persado’s generative AI to produce their ad content.
They rewrote previous marketing content using the technology to make it more engaging for consumers. “It rewrote copy and headlines that a marketer, using subjective judgment and their experience—likely wouldn’t have,” stated Kristin Lemkau, Chief Marketing Officer of JPMorgan, while discussing the advantages of AI for the organization.
5. Nutella Using AI for Packaging
Nutella attempted to make its packaging unique in order to increase product desirability and brand buzz. Ogilvy Italia, a branding firm, was selected for this groundbreaking project. Earlier this year, Nutella decided that they wanted to spice up their container label designs. They ran a campaign in February that resulted in 7 million customized Nutella jars, and they sold every single one.
The labels showcased an array of abstract shapes, polka dots, and zigzags. They used a single algorithm to design these “Nutella Unica” containers.
Although hundreds of brands incorporated AI these were the top 5 brand and AI collaborations we really enjoyed. Tell us your favorites in the comment section below.
