At the End of the A.I. Arms Race, Creativity Will Win

“What’s the future of Advertising?”

I was asked this question recently on Jason Harris’ very good Soul & Science Podcast.

In a moment filled with more inspiration than preparation, I blurted out something like, “90% of all agencies will be systems agencies. And only 10% will be interesting.”

Something like that.

After the show, I continued to reflect on it and I believe I’ve hit on something.

It’s the notion that truly creative companies will stand-out.

You see after the initial investments and implementations of tech stacks, data, media, and now A.I — a first-mover advantage is short-lived.

The hardware, software and compute edges quickly turn into parity.

Soon enough, everyone’s got a data thing and an A.I. work-flow.

And don’t get me wrong, these technologies are awesome.

But, as I’ve referenced before on this newsletter/blog, “technology is nothing until it’s in the hands of the artists.”

Of course, we’ve seen this movie before in different industries.

Once cars adopted a similar set of basic technologies like reliable combustion engines, modern suspensions, and safety features, the differences between models increasingly came down to design, character, and branding. The VW Beetle, for instance, didn’t stand out because it had a radically superior engine but because its quirky design, personality, and marketing created an emotional appeal that set it apart.

Similarly, in the early days of personal computing, many systems were built on the same basic hardware architecture and were running similar operating environments (like DOS). Apple broke out and broke through by reimagining the user experience with a distinctive, human-friendly design and graphical interface.

And what about Vegas, baby?

It’s all “X’s” and “O’s.” Meaning, nearly every casino on the Strip has the same architectural blueprint. Think about it from overhead: the X is the where the rooms are. The O part is the casino. In every hotel you must walk into the O first. And once through the casino you hit the X — the residential part. And of course, all the gaming technology is the same.

So you try to differentiate with a Venetian theme, a Parisian theme, a pirate theme, etc.

It’s different, but if you’ve ever stayed in aVegas hotel you know: it’s the same.

What happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily stay in Vegas as this same-same thing is now happening in Silicon Valley. Technology, and yes, even A.I. will reach a point of parity. Even homogeneity.

Then what?

Well, then someone is going to need an idea.

Any creatives in the house?

Image: Midjourney.