Luxury Brands: To AI or not to AI?
Feature by Trapdoor Productions
Well this is daunting isn’t it... Just me, my pen and no chat GPT. Not to mention I know nothing about building a luxury brand, nor do I know the deep technical workings of Artificial Intelligence.
So, what right do I have to write about the convergence of the two?
For the past two decades, I have created tens of thousands of brand stories for the world's largest companies, including LVMH, Chanel, Google and Apple.
Starting out with a pair of scissors cutting and gluing film, through to video cameras, then the dreaded revolution brought on by the DSLR, then of course, everyone became a creator with the iPhone. However, the reality is you don’t really care about any of this… and that’s my point.
To AI, or not to AI... Does anyone really care?
My entire industry has been up ended, with kids in their bedrooms seemingly being able to create advertisements that used to cost millions of dollars. And just like the evolution from film to the iPhone, the average viewer doesn’t care how it’s made. In fact, neither should we as industry professionals. From an industry perspective, I was taught long ago when learning the art of editing. “our job is to disappear, if someone thinks of you during the end product, you’ve failed”
So, where does that leave us in regard to AI? Now, I should be clear, I love AI and we work on many AI generated projects, however, AI is not the point.
My strong belief is that luxury brands are built on stories. No offence, but if you think the quality of your product is worth that much more than your competitors, you’re drinking the Coolade.
How creative you are at building that brand story and how you make people feel will determine your success in the market. Does anyone care if it was filmed on an iPhone or an ARRI Alexa with anamorphic lenses? NO. But they do care how it makes them feel.
So, the question is, how does AI make people feel?
This comes back to a question of authenticity, we’ve all recently seen the AI ‘influencer’ Mia Zelu appearing at Wimbledon. The posts received tens of thousands of likes, even though there were clear errors, like a clay court in the background and cushioned seats at centre court (we all know the seats are not that comfortable). This may work for some click bait or a quick brand boost for a startup, however it doesn’t build long lasting relationships with your audience and it certainly doesn’t build the most important thing of all… Trust.
‘AI Influencer’ Mia Zulu
With great power comes great responsibility
So, now we can create anything and fool everyone, what should we do? My personal opinion, sprint to authenticity and avoid any level of inauthentic content at all costs. But you ask, does this mean avoiding the goldrush of AI content creation altogether? Not at all.
One of my favourite things to do over the past decade of raising my daughter has been curling up on a rainy day and watching Disney movies, the ups, the downs, the laughs, the tears.
I swear I’ll keep watching them well after she’s moved out of home. Did Walt Disney set out to deceive the world with the mysterious power of moving drawings? No, he sparked our imagination and told stories in a new and magical way.
Now, we have the power to do the same, our imagination is truly the limit. This new superpower means, now more than ever, having a deep understanding of luxury brand storytelling is absolutely crucial. With endless possibilities, you can end so far off target, so quickly. One AI generated model that people are supposed to believe is real and your entire brand can be dragged through the mud.
AI as the new CGI
There has never been any backlash to CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) because it has always been seen as enhancing not replacing what we do in film. We shoot an actor on a green screen, then whisk them away to a far flung universe. Is this deceptive? By definition, yes it is. However, we all know it’s not real. In fact, to quote my 10 year old daughter. “Dad, nothing is real these days”. While this comment made me a little sad, she’s right. Online at least, nothing is real. Can we enhance content with AI in the same way we do with CGI? Absolutely, can far flung universes be thrown into the mix for storytelling purposes or to make a perfume bottle rise out from the depths of the sea like a Pirate ship coming back to life? If that’s what you’re into, sure!
AI, with the right intent and specific storytelling purpose is just like every other tool in our arsenal. Albeit, a very powerful tool that will just keep getting better.
The Anti-AI Approach
So, if nothing is real and we’re building content, how do we stand out?
Make it real!
Build real stories, with real people! One of my favourite campaigns is the “Wrapped in Burberry: Friends & Family” photo‑series which put the spotlight on Drs. Herschel and Lilly Stoller, a Nebraska couple who’ve been head‑to‑toe in Burberry check for more than twenty years. The cosy portraits (shot in London’s Bloomsbury) celebrated their decades‑long love affair with the brand and framed them as the living embodiment of “timeless British style” – a neat way of saying, “These two have literally been wearing us since dial‑up.”
I believe all things in history swing on a pendulum, we are already flooded with AI imagery and it’s only been truly in the market for months. People are craving real authentic stories, told beautifully. The art of storytelling and the joy of listening to or watching a well crafted story, will never die!
Photo Credit: Burberry PLC
Beware the Anti-Ad
The dreaded Anti-Ad. We will see this more and more. If you’re a large brand, you’ve no doubt dealt with smear campaigns and negative comments online, there will always be haters. Now those haters have the same tools you do to create cinematic content. (And they probably have more time on their hands too).
Some videos like the HarryPotter/Balenciaga parody clips that Creators like demonflyingfox made 2 years ago are not necessarily damaging to a brand per se and may even support them. (getting over 14m views). In a widely quoted Forbes analysis, Balenciaga was described as having “no easy answer” to the meme wave, recognizing the brand's imagery has become so culturally saturated that it can be repurposed at will—sometimes in ways that dilute brand prestige or blur authenticity.
While the Balenciaga satire was relatively benign, other ads are clear attacks on brands. One piece of content I’ve seen recently was produced simply because the creator didn’t like a particular airline. (We’ve all been there)
A few years ago a quick rant on social media would have been the end of it. Now a fullscale, Anti-Ad good enough to play at the Super Bowl and quite frankly hilarious enough to share, was produced.
So what can we do? I honestly don’t think anyone has a complete answer to that question. Be beyond reproach and ignore the haters, or lean in and create a response? I’m venturing outside of my lane here. I’ll stick to creating great content. AI or otherwise.
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