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T
he art of copy writing is as old as advertising itself, made
great by industry legends like David Ogilvy and Bill
Bernbach. But as marketers begin turning toward tools
that automate copy, is the craft in danger?
Over the past few years, brands have been toying with
different ways AI can double as a wordsmith. While these
experiments have proven that AI’s ability to “learn” mass amounts of
information give it a unique advantage when it comes to churning out
copy, it’s also become increasingly clear that there’s only so much the
technology can provide from a creative perspective.
Take Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, which trained IBM Watson to spit
out copy for Toyota Mirai ads in 2017 as part of a campaign geared toward
tech and science enthusiasts. While Watson was eventually able to
unearth some interesting insights and string together clever lines of copy,
getting there was a laborious process that involved months of training.
Last year, Alibaba’s digital marketing arm unveiled an AI-powered
copy writing tool for brands to leverage on its ecommerce sites.
Alibaba claimed the tool is used nearly a million times per day, but also
acknowledged that “human creativity is the cornerstone for the machine.”
Most recently, JPMorgan Chase signed a five-year deal with Persado,
a 7-year-old company that uses AI to send tailored copy to consumers
based on the kinds of messaging they’ve reacted to or shown a preference
for in the past. JPMorgan plans to use the company’s technology for
direct-response emails, display ads and the like.
Air Canada, whose email marketing open rates increased 48%
during a trial with Persado’s technology, has also seen success. Yuval
Efrati, Persado’s chief customer officer, said its platform works
because it takes the “guesswork” out of copy writing.
The firm provides a distinct and helpful tool to marketers rifeTHOUGH IT CAN STILL BE USED TO MAKE THINGS EASIER.
BY MINDA SMILEYMINDA SMILEY IS A STAFF WRITER FOR ADWEEK
COVERING AGENCIES. @MINDA_SMILEYwith customer data, but it’s not rooted in
creativity. After all, without data, Persado’s
offering would be rendered useless.
It’s for this reason that human copy writers
shouldn’t be worried—at least not yet. Jason
Sperling, svp and chief of creative development
at agency RPA, said there’s a huge gap between
the “minimal creativity” needed to write copy
for a banner ad and what it takes to come up
with an idea for a brand campaign.
“I don’t think you’re ever going to have a robot
determining what a Super Bowl commercial
is,” he said. “Creativity is not necessarily
programmable or easily decipherable.”
He pointed to a series of satirical ads
created by David Miami for Burger King that
mocked the very concept of AI-written copy.
While the campaign was a joke (albeit at AI’s
expense), it symbolized a sentiment that
many creatives in the industry share: some
tasks are better suited for humans.
“People can associate and amalgamate
very disparate thoughts and feelings and
stories,” Sperling said. “Would AI ever be
smart enough to actually make fun of itself ?”
Kathryn Webb, AI practice lead at AKQA,
said copy writers shouldn’t view AI as a threat
but rather a “member of the creative team” that
can provide a diverse viewpoint and maybe
even take on some of the more humdrum work
that’s not exactly exciting or challenging.
“I think it actually frees up copy writers to
tackle more difficult copy writing tasks,” said
Webb. She continued, saying that human-
driven copy writing may even increasingly
become a “premium product” that marketers
seek out for higher-level tasks.
It’s a viewpoint shared by Alexandre
Naressi, head of R&D at Accenture
Interactive, who said that only humans have
the ability to react to “sudden unexpected
events.” Case in point: It was a person who,
upon realizing that there was a power
outage at Super Bowl XLVII, helmed Oreo’s
successful “dunk in the dark” tweet.
“Human copy writers will always be more
spontaneous,” Naressi said. “They inherently
have deeper cultural [and] emotional impact
and relevance.”
It’s hard to predict where AI will be one,
five or even 10 years from now, but it seems
as though copy writers have nothing to worry
about for the time being. While AI might be
infringing on their domain, it simply doesn’t
have the inherent creative chops to truly
make a case for itself.
“We’re all looking at the future and
wondering what’s next and how [it] will
affect our jobs,” said Sperling. “But I don’t
necessarily see AI becoming idea factories
in the short term.”MARKETING
AI Doesn’t Want Your
Copywriting Job
DO
AI is best suited
for copywriting
tasks that have
a clear goal and
purpose. With clear
instructions and
parameters, AI can
use its speed and
scale to efficiently
craft copy that’s
in line with your
brand voice.DON’T
Turning to AI for a
fresh idea or concept
isn’t necessarily
impossible, but it
will take a lot of
time and human
intervention along
the way. It’s best
to leave this kind
of thinking to the
pros, who are aware
of the emotional
and cultural
complexities that
go into creating
something
meaningful.