Is digital making it harder to be creative in advertising? This panel thought so

At the event at London’s Digital Distillery, Steven Filler, ShowHeroes’ UK country manager, was joined by Sarah Leccacorvi, head of marketing communications at Aviva, Jack McLaren, founder of PATTRNS digital agency, and Seb Royce, climate-conscious creative director at Rewired Earth.

Speaking after the event, Filler said: “We can apply the most sophisticated and efficient strategies known to man. But the reality is a successful ad is about forging a genuine connection with audiences. That makes the creative piece the most important part of today’s digital advertising jigsaw.

“This session was all about asking our expert panelists: what’s the current state of play in digital creative? And how can brands reclaim their creativity in an era where numbers and tech rule the waves?”

Here are five key takeaways.

Short-term mindsets

Among the key takeaways from the thought-provoking debate was the belief that advertisers suffer from a short-term mindset.

“Advertising has become dominated by the likes of Google and Meta. It’s morphed into a very technical, formulaic game,” said McLaren. “Data intelligence is amazing; it’s enabled very precise audience targeting. But it’s also led to this sales-y approach that’s compromising the integrity of ad creatives.

“We’ve lost some of that vital showmanship and entertainment value,” he added. “And that shows up in consumer stats. Over 32% of worldwide internet users use ad blockers. People are actively avoiding the messaging that we’re putting out there.”

The cost of dull ads

The issue is not only that brands are losing the ability to be brave and innovative. It’s also that our obsession with performance is affecting the bottom line. Recent System1 research found that 52% of responses to UK TV ads are neutral: viewers feel nothing. And that “dullness” costs the sector nearly £1 billion in wasted ad spend.

C-Suites need to be attuned to the huge price of being mediocre. Whereas: “a beautifully executed piece of creative” might need airing once or twice, said McLaren, lower-quality content requires increased frequency to achieve the same results. So unless brands can “be radically creative, show distinctiveness and differentiate themselves,” a financial penalty awaits.

For Leccacorvi, the opposite of dull ads are: “engaging, humorous and irreverent: they literally stop you in your steps”. For example, the new Andrex films that take aim at well-worn “poo” stigmas. The panel also pointed to iconic, offbeat moments from ad history, such as Cadbury’s Gorilla.

Risk aversion

Many brands today suffer from “a nervousness about pushing the creative boundaries,” added Leccacorvi. “There’s a sense of ‘we must hit targets’ that inhibits the ability to take risks or be overly emotive.”

Creatives themselves have a role to play here. “Advertising loves a good navel gaze. We’re always looking at what everyone else is doing,” Royce observed. “But to make better creatives, you have to raise the bar on your sources of inspiration. Make a point to attend out-of-the-box lectures or workshops. Or look to Medium and Substack, where you can get really interesting insight from thinkers far beyond the advertising world.”

Social channels also offer a great way to experiment with fresh, audience-first ways of communicating. You can tap into trends and talking points without being too brand-orientated, Breakfast cereal Surreal is a case in point, using sharp humor, authentic voice, and minimal budget to build a cult following on LinkedIn.

Art over science

“Digital advertising is flooded with creative content of dubious quality, so it’s challenging to be distinctive,” said Royce. “We’re putting too much emphasis on the science of targeting and not enough on the art of creativity. There are some incredibly creative people out there, but many are not focused on creativity in digital formats in the way they once were, but with the advances in what is possible, the potential is there.”

Leccacorvi agreed. “There are so many opportunities to connect with what Google calls ‘the messy middle’. Data gives you some information, but great commercials also come down to human truths and going with your gut. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith based on everything you know about human behavior: our attitudes, quirks, the conversations we share.”

AI still lacks

For Royce, the industry is now at “a dangerous tipping point” where the threat of using AI to outsource creativity is ever-present. However, our panelists are adamant that it should be treated with caution, as a productivity tool or to enhance production capabilities rather than a replacement for human thinking.

“I’ll use ChatGPT, Midjourney, Jasper, and Runway to produce stuff that I’ve already thought about,” said Royce. “But honestly, ask them to come up with ideas for me, and the results are hilarious. It’s like the most average, bland, creative person you’ve ever had in your team.”