Lexus tasked an AI with creating the optimal Lexus advertisement.
According to our primary source below, it did not turn out so well.
Even so, unlike what recently occurred with Burger King, since an AI actually did do this, it might be helpful to examine this particular with a bit of detail. In doing so, we hope that it will become easier for you to understand how AIs can make their own advertisements, which includes where their skills fall short compared to those that humans possess.
First and foremost, in the case of the AI that worked with Lexus, it only wrote the advertisement. In the end, a human still directed the process.
Furthermore, going through the plot progression of the ad yields one key insight right away.
Generally, the ad’s story does not seem to flow.
According to Adweek, the script for the advertisement was disjointed, which included it jumping back and forth between a peaceful drive along a green highway to a dark, dismal site at which a car is being given various stress tests by teams of workers. Upon watching the advertisement personally, I found the same to be true. There really is no logical flow to the series of events, beyond the fact that it appears as if the AI was trying to paint the Lexus model as being safe and trustworthy at the same time. In other words, there are no transitions between the peaceful drive and the relatively dark and dismal testing of the car.
Still, as Adweek suggests, I do believe that something positive can be said about their experience.
Dave Bedwood, who works as a creative lead for the ad agency that partnered with Lexus, suggested that the AI’s involvement in the script writing process greatly surpassed his expectations. In a precise sense, he actually indicated that the system took control of the script, leaving all of the humans involved as essentially backseat drivers.
If you’re speculating on how this was possible, it all comes down to the fact that this system was able to analyze 15 years of Lexus ads in only a few weeks. Therefore, it seems like it would also be logical to conclude that this advertisement should have been one of the most accurate in the company’s history, in terms of staying true to its’ brand image. The more relevant data that is analyzed, the better the performance of the AI, right?
The fact is, due to the scrambled nature of its’ final product, this was not the case.
Even so, in the end, we can say that one positive implication came from this effort.
At least the AI and advertising industries now have a clearer understanding of how much AIs lag behind humans in terms of their creativity. Perhaps, with this research, other teams will be able to build on the efforts of Lexus to find a formula for AI-generated advertising..
