October 30, 2025
Like, the whole concept of AI sounds fairly cool, right? Yeah, at one point, people were really excited to live like the characters in The Jetsons. It was supposed to handle all the boring stuff, like filling out spreadsheets, doing data entry, maybe cleaning up after you like the robot Rosie did on The Jetsons. Basically, AI was supposed to do the grunt work so the humans could focus on being creative, writing poetry, painting, just doing the fun (and safe) things in general. Now, you know for a fact it’s not like that in the slightest. Right now, it’s like the exact opposite.
Instead of helping people, AI has kind of hijacked everything. Like, it’s hijacked every ad, every video, every caption online feels the same, perfectly polished, totally lifeless, and definitely not written by anyone with a pulse. Like when you see it, you just know for a fact it’s AI, you can basically feel it (well, mostly people can tell). Thankfully, people are getting so over it, they’re so tired of it.
Sure, yeah, it’s understandable that you want to get better results from your marketing strategy, but is using AI to market to humans actually a good idea? Sure, there’s the whole “AI is a tool like a paintbrush is to a painter”, but is it actually being used for that? Well, no, at least not with the average person, not the average company, at least. But yeah, a lot of companies are proudly declaring they’re replacing humans with AI, and yes, that’s even the creative roles as well as the customer service roles. Even though there’s this great dehumanization happening, at the same time, a lot of companies and consumers are seeing anti-AI as a flex.
Well, yeah, rightfully so too! At this moment in this (unfortunately), there’s that collective sigh every time a brand proudly announces, “This was made with AI!” Like… cool, but maybe it shouldn’t have been. For the most part, consumers aren’t impressed anymore; it’s usually met with disgust, well, that and thinking that a brand is totally pathetic, too.
Actually, you can just go ahead and take Coca-Cola’s 2024 Christmas ad, for example. It was meant to feel magical and innovative, but instead, it made everyone cringe. If you haven’t seen it yet, just go on YouTube and look it up, because it’s basically just the uncanny valley wrapped in tinsel.
Also, over the fall in 2024, the German Tourism Board created an AI influencer to promote the country. Because nothing says “authentic travel experience” like a robot who’s never actually been there. The backlash was immediate, but yeah, the board has still stuck to their guns with the AI “influencer” (and the engagement on the account is way off, so they’re probably buying engagement from bots).
Oh, and don’t forget the billboards creeping up worldwide about firing your human staff and using AI “employees” instead; they’re creeping up literally in every major city. It feels like living in a Black Mirror episode or a Twilight Zone episode or something like that.
At least a lot of Gen Z, and some Gen Alpha (mostly teens) are focusing on analog. Chances are a lot of other generations probably are too, but Gen Z seems to be the biggest at the moment. But yeah, while everyone else is racing to automate, a few brands are going in the opposite direction and absolutely killing it.
Actually, Polaroid’s billboard campaign is a perfect example, well, there were several, but one that really stuck was the “You can’t generate AI sand between your toes” because, yeah, that’s true. Yeah, you can make a pixelated version of yourself doing stuff, but you’re not actually experiencing it, so what’s even the point then? The same goes for Aerie, yeah, they’re a fast fashion brand (and a lot of fast fashion brands like Shein, for example, are using AI), they’re showing the unfiltered version of their models (and at least they’re using models).
There’s a bit of a rebellion here; hopefully, this is all genuine, but it’s a bit hard to tell when it comes to major brands.
Again, there’s this whole dehumanization, and a lot of companies (and media companies) are proudly boasting about firing people and replacing them with AI. Sure, some companies like Klarna have backpedaled and even said it was a bad idea what they did. But overall, a good chunk of companies, both big and small, are using “we’re only using AI for everything” as basically their marketing method. So, where do you and your brand stand in this? Where does your audience stand in all of this?
Well, brands that want to stand out don’t need to get “smarter.” Well, for the most part, they don’t; they just need to get more human. As in, they need to embrace real faces, real voices, and real moments. Basically, people are craving connection, not perfection. It’s seriously as easy as just being genuine.
For example, you can have your team run internal checks to detect AI-generated content before publishing, just to make sure their marketing still sounds human (granted, it might be easiest not to use AI at all, but to each their own). Obviously, you’ll want to stay away from AI-generated art, videos, those sorts of things (and yeah, people literally know when AI is being used, it’s seriously so obvious).
Yeah, that’s a pretty fair question. No one can really predict the future accurately at this moment in time. We all know we’re in an AI bubble at the moment, and it looks a lot like the dot-com bubble (a lot of CEOs are in denial at this moment in time). It will hopefully get to the point where more and more companies go back to being human-centered, at least hopefully that will be the case.
Hopefully, you can expect to see more brands proudly declaring themselves “human-made.” Maybe that means more campaigns showing raw, imperfect beauty. Maybe it even means more companies bragging about not using AI. From the looks of it all, that’s what’s going to cut through the noise. But yeah, people are tired of being treated like data points; they want a connection. They want creativity. They want a world that feels alive again.
Consumers are feeling fatigued by the sheer volume of content that feels generic, impersonal, and lacks a human touch. People crave genuine connection and creativity, which they feel is often missing from AI-generated ads, videos, and text that all start to look and sound the same.
A human-centered approach prioritises real people and authentic stories. This means using unfiltered images of actual customers or models, sharing real moments, and communicating with a genuine voice. It’s about building a connection rather than just pushing a perfectly polished, but lifeless, message.
You can start by limiting your reliance on AI for creative and customer-facing roles. Have your team check content to ensure it sounds authentic and human. Prioritise using real photos and videos over AI-generated visuals. The goal is to ensure your brand's personality shines through.
Yes. The article mentions Polaroid, which ran a campaign highlighting that AI can't replicate real experiences like feeling sand between your toes. It also points to Aerie for using unfiltered photos of models, celebrating imperfection and authenticity over digital perfection.
Not necessarily. The issue isn't the tool itself, but how it's used. AI can be helpful for backend tasks like data entry or analysis. The problem arises when it replaces the human element in creative and communication roles, leading to the dehumanised marketing that consumers are beginning to reject. For guidance on balancing tools and strategy, resources from Online Business Startup can be very helpful.
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