From Nike to Coca-Cola, How Iconic Brands Are Innovating with Generative A.I.

Nike commemorated its 50th anniversary with an A.I.-generated ad campaign featuring Serena Williams.

In advertising, the symbiotic relationship between creativity and disruptive technologies like A.I. is well-documented. Historically, A.I. has positively impacted programmatic advertising, SEO enhancement, ranking analytics and productivity improvements, transforming the media and advertising landscape. However, with the advent of generative A.I.—which is capable of generating text, images and videos—advertising agencies are now rethinking their operations, shifting their focus towards augmentation rather than mere automation. Across the U.S., agencies are exploring how these technologies can further enhance creativity and efficiency without entirely replacing human input. 

Agencies that adopt generative A.I. are better positioned to serve brands and enhance creativity, according to Forrester’s recent “The State of Generative A.I. Inside U.S. Agencies” report. The report shows that over 60 percent of decision-makers at U.S. agencies already use generative A.I., with another 31 percent exploring its potential. Notably, 78 percent of large U.S. agencies (with more than 201 employees) have integrated genAI into their workflows. 

“Marketers everywhere are being challenged to achieve more with less, and genAI has created many ways for marketers to be more effective and efficient,” Tania Yuki, a member of the media and technology advisory board for the World Economic Forum, told Observer. “GenAI creates an opportunity for campaign performance to be analyzed at scale and in a meaningful way. With this knowledge, future ideation can be guided by the true reasons for what has worked, and creativity can be shaped meaningfully.”

Forrester’s report highlights that large agencies across the U.S. are utilizing genAI for key applications such as ideating creative concepts (74 percent), summarizing audience insights (59 percent), and evaluating marketing performance (49 percent). This approach aims to leverage A.I.’s strengths while maintaining human creativity and decision-making’s unique contributions.

The report also found that generative A.I. will significantly influence how agencies create content, interact with the marketplace, engage consumers and produce content. For instance, 76 percent of decision-makers believe A.I. will revolutionize content creation, while 71 percent foresee changes in the agency marketplace. Furthermore, 69 percent expect shifts in consumer interactions, and 62 percent anticipate changes in content production.

From McDonald’s to Nike, brands are embracing A.I.

The push towards A.I. integration is driven by clients seeking cutting-edge marketing strategies. As a result, agencies are under pressure to adapt quickly. For instance, consumer giants like McDonald’s leveraged A.I. by asking a chatbot to name the world’s most iconic burger. The answer, “Big Mac,” was prominently featured across videos and billboards, sparking AI-generated responses from fast-food rivals. 

In February 2023, the management consulting firm Bain & Company announced a global service alliance with OpenAI to integrate A.I. into their systems. Coca-Cola (KO) was the first to join this alliance, launching the “Create Real Magic” contest. The initiative invited users to produce A.I. artworks, which were also showcased on the company’s website. Digital artists generated 120,000 interpretations of Coca-Cola’s brand imagery, including its iconic curved bottle and logo, using an A.I. platform partly developed by OpenAI.

Nike’s use of A.I. in marketing exemplifies this trend. Nike’s A.I.-generated “Never Done Evolving” ad campaign featured a tennis match between Serena Williams’ younger self from her first Grand Slam in 1999 and her 2017 Australian Open persona. The award-winning, eight-minute video commemorated Nike’s 50th anniversary.

“Creatives have always faced the dreaded tyranny of the blank page, and genAI can help creatives push past this initial phase and even back their gut-based concepts so things can move more quickly,” Yuki said. “A.I. as a tool can assist human creativity—rather than expecting to fully rely on it to produce final content. The point is not to replace, but to support, and to enable fast variations and personalizations off of a core human concept.” 

Creative jobs are the least threatened by A.I.

While A.I. tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Midjourney have become ubiquitous, they raise growing concerns about job displacement in traditional industries like advertising. Another recent Forrester report found that approximately 33,000 agency jobs, or 7.5 percent, could be lost to automation by the next decade. 

However, the report also suggested that creative roles, including writers and editors, are among the least at risk. Instead, generative A.I. may enhance productivity and creativity within these professions. Other roles expected to grow include data science, management, software development, public relations and market research. On a global scale, the report predicted a more than 20 percent increase in digital marketing and strategy specialist roles by 2028. 

“A.I. won’t completely replace your jobs; instead it will supercharge productivity,” Rajat Mishra, founder and CEO of Prezent, a corporate communications tool, told Observer. “It can get you 80 percent of the way quickly, based on the problem you’re solving. The human-in-the-loop ensures the final 20 percent. This human-machine interaction enhances efficiency and creativity, particularly in creative media tasks. A.I. handles the groundwork, and humans refine the output. This collaboration can drive superior outcomes if adopted across enterprises.”