D&AI: Advertising in the ChatGPT Era

In the quiet first few weeks of January, I’m sure our agency wasn’t unique in spending hours getting lost in the wonders of chatGPT and the incredible output of Midjourney. Amongst the hubbub of creatives simultaneously excited about the possibilities of AI, and the frisson of fear over the future of their careers, my mind went to an altogether different place. I earned my stripes in account management (it’s not a discipline we have at Kesselskramer but it’s still in my blood), and, though not a boomer by birth then at least by tech know-how, it lead me to some logistical and existential questions. 

Logistics first. When reviewing creative, the suits are the boring ones in the room. As much as we love a corking creative concept, our minds are on the brief and, more often than not, the budget. We weigh up the responses not only on their strategic merit but also whether we can make it work with the time and money allowed for it. AI feels like a brilliant answer to this. No time at all for production, and no need to source and reach out to creators who might fit the brief. 

But it can’t possibly be free, can it? Who gets the usage rights?! Do we pay the AI company to use their work in an ad? Do we pay the thousands of artists whose work has contributed to the artwork spat out by a bot in mere minutes? A recent post by the society of illustrators puts this better than I ever could: 

What’s more, as one of the better-funded creative industries, don’t we have an obligation to put some of our budget (whilst we still have it!) towards funding artists and creators who may rely on commercial work to pay the bills? Shouldn’t we use our influence to help fund an industry slowly being strangled by a government who steadfastly refuse to fund it?

The Hire a Human campaign from @albumartarchive (the Instagram account of Studio AAA) highlighted how this is already happening:  

Which is where the existential questions come in. Not only are creators struggling, but before any of this, the future of the art world was already under threat for anyone without support from the bank of mum and dad and our government continues to try and annihilate the next generation of artists by enforcing maths instead of fuelling creativity. Advertising has the means not only to fund creators but also help those of differing backgrounds find their careers in the industry. If we (or even our clients without or input) look to robots to create their work, what does that mean for them? 

It goes against everything we were taught - choosing the more expensive, time consuming option. But as account managers in the commercial arm of the artistic industries, we have a duty to protect artists and keep paying them what they’re due, as well as investing in the young creatives coming up the ranks, to make sure there’s an industry and a profession available for artists as robots ‘take their jobs’. 

Luckily, Kesselskramer’s end of year campaign neatly highlights that eventuality being slightly further away than we thought. But still, now is the time for us to examine our responsibility to future creators to protect their potential careers.