Advertise with Soul: APAC Creatives Call for Era of Reinvention

When asked to name the biggest issue on their minds right now, there’s one subject that unsurprisingly features prominently for senior APAC creatives. “AI is the elephant in every brainstorming room,” admits FCB SHOUT ECD, Tjer Wang. “It’s both a tool and a temptation – a shortcut that can make us lazy if we allow it.

“With so many tools available to anyone with a wifi connection, the biggest question being asked today isn’t just how to be creative anymore. Instead, it’s how to be indispensable. The best talents are the ones who know when to let the machines do the heavy lifting and when to say, ‘This needs a human touch’.”

As DDB Group Hong Kong’s regional ECD, Alejandro Canciobello, puts it, “AI is no longer a trend – it’s an establishment. The debate about whether AI will replace creatives is over. It won’t. But that doesn’t mean we can afford to be passive spectators in its evolution. AI is a powerful tool, but it needs human talent to direct, refine, and ultimately, inject soul into what it produces. It’s here to stay, and we need to move beyond fearing it to understanding how it can enhance our work.”

“AI is becoming our industry's ultimate BS detector,” states Aarushi Periwal, founding member and creative at Talented. “It’s fundamentally redefining what it means to be a creative professional in advertising.”

She notes that advertising has “always been relatively easy to get into, but increasingly top-heavy. Our industry has welcomed talent from diverse backgrounds, sometimes prioritising style and cultural references over deeper creative instincts. When machines can handle the baseline work, suddenly the only irreplaceable skill is genuine creative insight.

“For Indian advertising talent, this is both thrilling and terrifying. While many advertising schools excel at teaching traditional craft, they sometimes struggle to prepare students for a rapidly evolving technological landscape where adaptability has become as crucial as creative vision. The global playground has completely transformed.”

The Asia Pacific region, with its projected ad spend growth of 5.8% in 2025 (the highest globally), and historically fast rate of adoption when it comes to new technologies, has become particularly exciting to watch. But creatives warn that advancements can’t come at the expense of ‘soul’, which Aarushi defines as “the profound art of resonance and meaning-making that transcends technical execution.”

Duy Nguyễn, concept provider at Happiness Saigon, believes the advertising industry has lingered at an extreme point of ‘soullessness’ in recent years. “Like a pendulum on a clock, the advertising industry – and our media landscape, in general – often swings between different extremes. In the last few years, with the rise of AI and hyper-targeting, we’ve seen creative work slowly go from a labour of love to an ever-more-efficient digital assembly line.

“Algorithms work behind the scenes to carefully optimise performance metrics, serving ad content precisely to those it thinks should see it – and when they need to see it – based on extensive data. This also extends to content platforms like Youtube and TikTok, where most videos are tailored to serve the all-powerful algorithm for a chance at going viral. In this age of hyper-personalisation, ads and content, ironically, feel more generic than ever.” At Happiness Saigon, the team is calling it the ‘sea of soulless sameness’.

“More and more, brands are encouraging agencies to use AI to reduce costs and speed up work,” agree Winson Woo and Wanshi Lu, partners and ECDs at Mother Shanghai. “Our industry has a tendency to focus on the next big thing because it believes it will solve the problem. However, great creativity has never been defined by the tools it uses. It is all about the thinking behind them.

“In the age of AI, balancing efficiency and creativity will most likely be critical; similarly, businesses must recognise that while AI is a brilliant tool, it is not the answer to a business problem, nor is it a way to eliminate the time spent on creative thinking.”

For Charlotte Adorjan, ECD at Taboo in Australia, the new shape of creativity is built on a bigger wave of overarching change. “I’m thinking hard about fresh ways of doing things. We’re entering a new era in our industry and the shift is palpable. It means death to the old guard and in with fresh, new air.

“The old way was killing us creative types anyway. Making us miserable, forcing mums to stay home, closing doors on talent from different backgrounds, and rewarding the wrong people; only looking after the fat cats of the biz, not the clever worker mice who come up with the wonderful ideas, nimbly traversing the chaos in that clever way creatives do.

“I think many agencies are floundering in the tsunami of it all but all this change gets me excited. We get the chance to completely reinvent the industry.”

This is something that M&C Saatchi Melbourne ECD, Emma Robbins echoes. “We currently all have mosh pit tickets to the high-energy performance of ‘Honey I Shrunk the Agencies’. It's wild and relentless, but fascinating.

“The industry streamlining we're experiencing sees the ancient pillars of different creative disciplines crumbling before our eyes, and beautiful like-minds now standing hugging in their rubble. It's a powerful thing. And long overdue.”

Treat Creative Ideas Like Couture Gowns

​With the adoption of AI efficiencies and the resulting cascade of content, brands must find new ways to stand out among the noise in 2025. “For years, we’ve been racing one another for attention,” says Tjer.

“We strive to be louder, faster and even trendier. But the internet has become so saturated with content that it isn’t enough anymore. Our audiences can smell inauthenticity from a mile away, and brands that chase the latest meme instead of standing for something meaningful will be forgotten faster than last week’s viral TikTok dance.

“I’ve said this many times before: brands and agencies need to stop chasing trends and start creating long-lasting connections with their audience. The best creative ideas are the ones that tap into human truths and evoke real emotions, not just ride the next wave. Achieving that requires something no AI or algorithm can replicate: lived experience, deep insight, and the ability to connect dots in ways that only humans can.”

Tjer highlights that this comes down to “ideas that spark conversations”, not just conversions. “The emergence of AI has given us at FCB SHOUT a timely wakeup call. This year, our big ambition is to champion creative bravery and innovation among our people. We are hungry for ideas that make the audience a little uncomfortable because it challenges norms. We are desperate for ideas that brands might hesitate to approve, but will likely regret if they don’t. So, if any of our clients are reading this: you’re in for a treat!”

Duy is optimistic about the future. “In a world saturated with perfectly crafted, algorithm-friendly content, brands that stand out are those that dare to be vulnerable, show their true colours, and engage in honest conversations. And I’d argue that the industry is making a return to form with the success of campaigns that have ample personality, like Duolingo’s ‘Duo on Ice’ or Liquid Death’s ‘Pit Diaper’. We’ve always had ads with boldness and personality, but recently, we’ve seen a stronger resurgence of those than ever.”

Charlotte proclaims, “Let’s break every single shitty rule that held us back. Rules made by people who never lived our lives, or existed in this moment in time, working the way we want, need, to work.

“We can look into new ways of billing – imagine if our creative ideas were treated like couture gowns. You can get something exquisite and bespoke that fits your brand beautifully and will likely last a lifetime, or you can go down the Temu route. Like fashion, clients should get what they pay for with ideas too.

“We can also conjure up new ways of creating; like getting creatives deeper in the making process. Get the poor fuckers out of decks! We can break fresh new talent in – so you’ve got a background in forensic science and never went to ad school? Great, bring that madly inquisitive mind to the table. Don’t have the generational wealth to afford to live centrally? Sod it, we’ll Zoom you in every day. And what about mixing teams up so they’re cross-generational? The wisdom of old meets the wizardry of youth. Magic can happen.”

On this point, Alejandro also sees much benefit. “As we move forward, I see a growing divide between junior and senior creative talent. Junior creatives, raised in the AI era, are leaning too heavily on technology, often at the cost of developing the fundamental skills that have always defined great advertising. Being observant, understanding human behaviour, and crafting ideas from the ground up – these are irreplaceable skills.

"The danger is that we are raising a generation of doers rather than thinkers. Too many young creatives enter the industry without a strong grasp of what the work truly entails. We need to invest in mentorship and training to turn them into thinkers, not just executors.

“On the other hand, senior creatives are often resistant to AI, failing to explore its full potential. Their deep understanding of storytelling and strategy is invaluable, but an unwillingness to adapt might leave them lagging. Holding companies and agencies must evolve at the pace of technological advancements. Too often, the industry feels like a church clinging to policies from a century ago while the world has already moved on. We must push senior talent to adapt.”

Striking a Sweet Spot

Much like brands need to create long lasting relationships with their audiences, creatives are asking for the same treatment. “At the moment, clients aren’t on retainers. Every brief is a pitch. Jobs aren’t for life, they’re for projects,” Charlotte states. “The big creative opportunities are hiding in the smallest margins.”

For Alejandro, this is one of the most pressing concerns. “This transition from retainer-based relationships to project-based engagements is akin to comparing a marriage to an escort service. Long-term partnerships foster deeper understanding, trust, and consistency – all essential for building strong brands. Short-term projects might provide quick fixes, but they don’t address the underlying brand challenges in a meaningful way. The future of creativity lies in our ability to balance tradition with innovation.”

Duy predicts that the biggest challenge for creatives will “undoubtedly be navigating this pendulum swing between human-driven soulful work and AI-driven soulless sameness.

“Despite advocating for soulful ads, I do believe that there needs to be a balance between the creative’s desire to make work with heart and the brand’s need to fulfill their communication objectives.

“In that regard, it makes me happy to see that work with a lot of personality, like McDonald’s’ ‘McDrip’, are being celebrated for their effectiveness at awards like the Effies. It shows that, if done right, hearty work can bring much more effectiveness to clients compared to hyper-optimised yet soulless advertising. As a creative, that’s my goal for the coming year: to create as much work that strikes this sweet spot between boldness and efficiency as possible.”

“This moment in advertising is beautifully binary,” Aarushi states. “It's heaven for the passionate and hell for the imposters. If you're in advertising because you genuinely love connecting brands with people through creativity, this is your golden age. In the end, AI isn't replacing creativity – it's just raising the bar for what counts as creative. And honestly, our industry could do with a little shake up.”