As AI continues to accelerate the pace of creative production, the industry is being forced to confront an uncomfortable question. If creativity becomes frictionless, what happens to craft, mastery and the emotional labour that has traditionally defined great work?
These tensions sit at the heart of a recent contribution to Performance Marketing World from Geoffrey Chang, Creative Lead at eight&four. Geoff explores why creativity has always demanded passion and, at times, pain, and why removing that struggle in favour of convenience risks stripping creative work of its meaning.
Referencing recent AI-generated campaigns from major brands, Geoff argues that while such work may still achieve effectiveness, it often relies on legacy brand cues such as music and memory rather than genuine creative ambition. As AI lowers the barrier to production, the divide between marketing efficiency and creative craft continues to widen.
Rather than rejecting AI outright, Geoff examines the deeper creative risk of a world where reality itself becomes debatable and shortcuts are normalised. In response, he points to a growing appetite for work rooted in human effort, discipline and imperfection, from meticulous advertising production to emotionally charged music and design.
His conclusion is clear. The most resonant creative work is rarely painless. In an era of frictionless creation, struggle, vulnerability and lived experience become powerful differentiators. If brands and creatives want to stand out in a landscape increasingly shaped by generated content, they must protect what AI cannot replicate. Passion, process and graft will always matter.
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