How Barrett Hofherr Used AI to Bring Music to Chronically Ill Children

Six months ago we could not have made this CoachArt film.

We didn’t have the money.

We didn’t have the capability.

We didn’t have the eight to 10 weeks it would take to conceive, comp, present, revise, present, shoot, present, revise some more, re-present, and finish.

We didn’t have the idea, either. Nor could we have. Because it revolved around an AI technology that didn’t yet exist.

AI is thrilling, human-existence-threatening, and everything in between. But damn, it sure helps you make stuff.

For us, in adland, that’s the key to AI. The only key. See it for what it is - the single greatest creative toy in our lifetimes. Play, explore, experiment, do weird shit. And repeat. Eventually, inevitably, new and previously unimaginable (and unproducible) work will be the result.

It’s also a built-in, 24/7 creative partner. You never have to work alone again. Feed AI something, it feeds you something back. It never gets covid, and it never tells you your ideas suck.

AI even changes the client process. With CoachArt, we simply said we had an idea. Then we made it and showed it to them.

That. Was. It.

No selling. No “picture if you will”. No “it’ll look kinda like this but much better”. Quick and painless, for all involved.

Will AI have a positive impact on the world? TBD. Maybe Sam and Elon and the rest of the gang will get greedy and AI will flip the script and start prompting us. Maybe it’ll destroy the ad industry en route to eliminating us all from the planet.

But for now, Artifical Intelligence makes more possible. With CoachArt, it enabled us to play our part in helping thousands of chronically ill children.

All it takes is natural intelligence to know - that’s a pretty great thing.