Can AI beat human creatives yet? Sydney agency Five by Five to hold live experiment to find out
Sydney-based indie agency Five by Five Global is putting on a filmed event next week for marketers to witness first-hand what can happen when a human creative team goes head-to-head with a new advertising AI model on a live brief.
A ‘traditional’ creative duo consisting of creative director/senior copywriter Nick Snelling (top left) and senior art director Emma Chu (top right) will be tasked with responding to a real brief by a real brand within a single day. Simultaneously briefed will be a new bespoke AI model developed by former Meta technology strategist and generative AI consultant Tom Dowuona-Hyde. His model has been trained on a combination of successful advertising campaigns, creative methodology and a Large Language Model (LLM).
The rules are simple: Snelling and Chu can use everything except AI in their creative response. Meanwhile, Dowuona-Hyde (bottom left) cannot deploy any conceptual thinking of his own to direct the AI model – only prompt it with the brief and then select the best ideas it emerges with. To make things more interesting, Snelling and Chu have never worked together before.
Both the humans and the AI will then present back to a panel of expert judges that same afternoon. The judging panel includes Natalia Pawlak (ex-Samsung), Jason Juma-Ross (Meta), senior advertising creative Bettina Clark, and the client sponsor (who at this stage remains anonymous). Given the time constraints, the panel will assess the output from the two teams noting the level of creativity and conceptual thinking displayed.
Five by Five Global’s CMO Matt Lawton (bottom right) explains it as a ‘crazy experiment’: “We’ve pulled this together to have an open, transparent and mature conversation based on something tangible that the audience will get to see first-hand in real time. There’s so much concern in our industry for human creativity, we just wanted to test how far AI has come to closing the gap we all recognised was there when the AI hype began last year.”
Says Snelling: “Call us naively optimistic, but Emma and I both still believe in the power of human creativity. Our impending obsolescence and the so-called singularity may be coming but it ain’t here just yet. Which is why we agreed to tilt at this windmill together. The reality is we’re both using AI as professional creatives every day anyway, so the idea it must be one or the other is a false proposition. When used well, AI is synergising human creativity rather than supplanting it. So, really, this is just a bit of fun – the meat versus the machine. Emma and I are the meat, but definitely the organic, grass-fed, free-range super-tasty kind.”
Adds Chu: “Creatives are being chased down by the beast that is AI, but screw it! Let’s throw some human sparkle at it and keep making magic.”
Lawton is in full praise of Snelling and Chu for stepping up to the challenge: “I spoke to a lot of creatives who thought we were mad and didn’t want a bar of it. Perhaps that reflects the lack of confidence that exists with talent who’ve been repeatedly side-lined in the current tough market. I feel very fortunate to have found two great creatives willing to participate on the basis that we’re ensuring a safe and supportive space. Both of them have entered into it with the spirit of fun.”
The event at 4pm on 17th September is free for client-side marketers who can register by emailing matt.lawton@fivebyfiveglobal.com. The Sydney venue for the event will be disclosed with a confirmation email.
29 Comments
Tom! What have you done?!
someone should notify sportsbet. be curious to know what the odds are.
… why aren’t Five By Five fielding their own creatives?
We don’t have a full time Creative Director at the moment.
Aren’t most creatives using AI these days as well? I dont see what is to be gained in this at all.
I think a lot of clients are curious as to how creatives are using AI and what the capabilities of AI are. While we’re billing this as a head to head, we’re aiming for a candid and illuminating discussion on how and when AI brings value. The creatives will point out their limitations and the AI consultant will do likewise. We’re just exploring this issue, putting it out there and respecting the craft and its evolution. Obviously it’s part of Five by Five’s efforts to generate awareness of the agency. So hopefully, there’s a lot to be gained for all involved.
My money’s on Emma and Nick, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for them. Ballsy move to say yes to this.
This is a good idea. Was it a human’s?
Humans 1
AI 0
Considering 98% of Australian work on this blog already feels like it’s been written by AI, the answer is probably going to be, Yes.
Every creative is using Ai. Also seriously how many times has a team actually cracked a winning idea in a day? Never.
Yes, that was a big consideration for how we could try and make it a fair fight… we’re experimenting, it may not be correctly balanced this time. Luckily the creatives involved are focused on having some fun and we’re confident we can create a safe space where the factors impacting the response can be debated and measured in the minds of the audience who will make their own determination.
Who are the judges?
Jason Juma-Ross, Meta
Natalia Pawlak, ex Samsung
Bettina Clark, Snr creative
Client and sponsor of the event
They’re more panelists than ‘judges’… I don’t have a trophy…. hmmm maybe I should!
If you want to do it right, compare it with any top creatives from the CB Hot List.
Why am I surprised to see people posting comments before they’ve even read the article? Seriously @I wonder – The judges are clearly named in the piece! And @Confused and @also confused – the fact that AI has been embraced by creatives is also addressed by one of the participants. Try reading what’s been written first BEFORE you share your wisdoms. But yeah TOTALLY agree it’s rare for any winning idea to get cracked in a day. Hard task, much? I wish them luck. The humans, that is.
You such a bitter human being! Relax!
Which participant are you? 🙂
I think it’s great. It’s an ongoing conversation, and a bit of fun. Positive vibes to everyone involved.
Neither, thankfully. Nor am I one of the judges or the organiser. I simply read the actual article. You should try it sometime.
It’s a bit odd that the entire focus of AI chat is ‘if’ it can replace creatives. I suspect you’ll find it can’t as yet.
However, entire creative departments are being ‘streamlined’ already based on this possibility (or inevitability).
I’d find it more illuminating if this was a contest between AI and the people writing the brief, or even better, between AI and the people crunching numbers in excel to figure out said streamlining of creative departments.
My guess is that the latter wouldn’t win against AI, right now.
And yet, they’re the ones keeping their jobs while creatives lose theirs.
Go figure.
That the judging should be blind, i.e. judges don’t know if concept AI generated or Human generated.
What happened to ECD you hired not long ago.?
Hear, hear. The best comment thus far. I think John Cleese said something similar: “I keep reading that film studios are contemplating replacing writers and actors by using Artificial Intelligence to mimic their talents. Surely it would be easier and more efficient to replace executives, since they have no talent at all.”
Everyone is replaceable and will be replaced when cheaper alternatives present. It’s nothing personal, it’s margins in a shrinking industry. Look how the senior leaders of yesterday are ‘Open to work’ or running consultancies that don’t produce much. With the onslaught of technology, agism won’t be the kicker for the next generation of creatives. I don’t think they’ll have years of decent enough pay. Or at least most won’t. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Try and be truly entrepreneurial and create other businesses and side hustles. Don’t be defined by this industry, don’t give it your all. When you lose your job, it’ll just mark a change in direction rather than a fall.
Oh Puuuh-lease. Of course its you.
I can’t wait for this stupid industry to be automated so people stop asking me to work and I can just be a failure instead of a fraud.
I’ve said too much.
Would be to have a third team using A.I.
Scott Galloway: You won’t lose your job to AI. You’ll lose your job to someone who knows how to properly use AI.
The comment saying this experiment needs a third team is bang on the money.